The Portal
by a-delacroix
Summary: Complete Clark & Chloe and Lex & Lana are stranded in Rome. Ancient barbaric Rome. Unexpected secrets are revealed as they struggle to survive and find their way home. Very AU.
1. Default Chapter

The Portal

Author: Note: This story takes place near the end of season one, after Clark invites Chloe to the dance, but before the season finale. At the moment, I find the Clark-Chloe pairing more interesting than Clark-Lana. While I haven't got the entire story finished, it looks to be headed Alternate Universe. Finally, this is my first attempt at a story, so hopefully it is readable and somewhat interesting to others besides me.

Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.

Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)

Chapter 1

Clark, Chloe, and Lex tumbled out onto a dust-covered stone floor.

"Well, that was different," remarked Lex climbing to his feet and brushing at the dirt covering the knees and left sleeve of his hand-tailored black Gianfranco Ferre suit.

"Clark!" cried Chloe, as she realized her best friend had not bounced immediately back to his feet like she and Lex. No, Clark was still sprawled out on the rough floor, his arms and legs were trembling out of control like someone in the terminal stages of Parkinson's, and his jaw was set in a hard grimace of pain.

Looking over, Lex saw Chloe kneel back down and brush her hand helplessly across Clark's forehead.

"Clark, what's wrong?" pleaded Chloe.

After about ten seconds a shuddered passed through Clark's body and abruptly the trembling ended. Taking a deep breath, Clark finally found his voice. "I'm okay, just give me a minute." Shaking his head, he used his arms to raise his torso and then slowly climbed to his feet. This had been one of the worst meteor rock episodes he had ever experienced. Normally, it started in a localized spot, wherever the rock had touched his body, and then slowly spread with prolonged exposure. But this had seemed to affect every molecule of his body simultaneously.

However with the exposure now passed, his body quickly recovered and within a couple of seconds of reaching his feet, Clark once more felt all of his incredible strength and vitality return. And just as quickly, he remembered where they were and why they were here.

Not wanting the others to focus on his reaction to his passage through the device or his equally sudden recovery, Clark made a show of looking back towards the portal they had just passed through, or more accurately, the now blank wall where the portal had been. "Lex, Professor Carey's device really does work."

"Yeah, even though we saw him drag Lana through the portal, it still isn't the same as going through it yourself." Lex responded with relief at Clark's apparent return to normal; he already felt responsible for Lana's abduction, he didn't want Clark's injury or death on his conscious, too. Turning away from the other pair, he forced himself to focus on the here and now while he got his thoughts back under control. The room he found, now that he truly looked at it, wasn't at all what he had been expecting.

The windowless room, lit by a couple of bare bulbs dangling from the low ceiling, was about 20 by 30 feet and appeared to have been rough-hewn with hand tools from living rock, but never completely finished. Under the incandescent lighting the walls threw back a muted beige glow. Along the left wall was arrayed a mish-mash of electronic equipment similar to the set-up in the professor's lab at Metropolis University, but obviously simplified. The equipment, filling three racks, was giving off the faint pops and clicks typical of electrical gear powering down after being pushed almost to its limits.

The right wall was bare except for a large electrical schematic held in place with several pieces of duct tape and liberally marked up with red and green ink. The far wall was also bare except for the door, which seemed to be the room's solitary 'normal' exit.

While Lex and Chloe were taking a closer look at the room's electronic equipment, Clark was using his x-ray vision to see what was beyond the walls. Above, below and on three sides the room was enclosed in solid rock. The fourth side, beyond the single door, had several additional rooms and then an exit to the outside. In one of the rooms Clark could see the skeletal outline of a body lying on the floor. Pushing his x-ray vision up near his current limits, he could just see the outlines of the softer tissues and organs including the heart beating and the chest raising and falling. Once more he briefly found himself wishing he could control the 'looking through a window' effect he had experienced intermittently when this special vision had first made its appearance. But so far he hadn't been able to reliably achieve that state and had had to settle for this 'Doctor's Office X-ray Machine' mode.

"Come on guys," said Clark, trying to remember to be thankful for even this limited visual gift as it had already gotten him out of countless difficult situations in the past six months. Starting for the door, he continued. "Lana's not here, let's get going."

"Clark, we don't know if Professor Carey has any others here. Please be careful," warned Lex.

"Okay, Lex," responded Clark being unable, as always, to explain how he knew only one other person was in this suite of rooms cut into the rock of whatever hill or mountain they were in. Nor could he explain how he knew that person was unconscious. And although he couldn't be certain, given the preceding events, it seemed very likely the person he could see was Lana and he didn't want to waste any more time than necessary getting to her.

He tried to convince himself he was just concerned whether she was hurt, but he knew it was more than that. He still had strong feelings for her, even though he had come to realize Chloe was the one he was meant to be with. His realization of his feelings for Chloe had come slowly, and finally, just three days earlier he had found the words to ask Chloe to the spring formal.

While Clark was heading toward the door still trying to sort out his feelings towards Lana, Lex surged forward, trying to take the lead.

"Clark, I feel like this whole situation is my responsibility. Let me go first, in case we run into any trouble."

Clark stepped aside knowing there was no trouble immediately ahead.

With Lex leading the way and Chloe trailing behind, they went through the door into the hallway beyond. The hall had several doors on the right and what looked to be the way out straight ahead.

The first door on the right led to a generator room with two small diesel engines, one of which was running and providing power to the facility. Other than small air inlets and exhaust holes for the generators, this room had no other exits and no occupants.

The second door on the right let into a storage room. Here is where they found Lana lying on her side, tied to a heavy crate.

As Chloe and Clark reached her, she started to stir.

"Where am I? What happened?"

"Just lie still a minute while I get these ropes undone," answered Clark.

"How do you feel?" asked Chloe squatting down next to Clark.

"Like a character on a TV detective show that was hit over head," Lana remarked as she slowly sat up rubbing the back of her head.

Gazing around the room as though she was seeing it for the first time, Lana continued. "So what happened? The last thing I remember is going to Metropolis U. on a class field trip."

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Lex. "If so, I would like to check outside while Clark and Chloe explain the situation."

"Sure, Lex, go ahead."

"Yeah, Lex, none of us are ready to sit through your techno-babble explanation about particle accelerators or vacuum energy fields and their interaction with meteor rocks again anytime soon," said Chloe with a hint of a grin. "We'll try and give her the high school version."

"Sorry about that Chloe. You all seem so mature; I keep forgetting you haven't even had high school physics yet, let alone several years of college level classes."

"Just give us another year. Both Clark and I passed the advanced placement test and will be taking Physics 101 at Smallville Community College in the fall," Chloe shot back at him.

"It is really cool," added Clark with a more earnest tone to his voice than Chloe had projected. "We get both high school and college credit for the class and the Smallville school system picks up all of the cost for tuition and books."

Lex knew Clark was already thinking about how he and his parents were going to pay for college. He wanted to help, but still hadn't figured out how to do it without further offending Clark's father.

"Just think of today as an extra-curricular physics assignment. Now, while you guys bring Ms. Lang up to date, I am going to take a look around."

"Clark, do you want to explain or shall I?" asked Chloe.

"Oh, why don't you go ahead; I want to check out a few of these crates. I'll listen and stick my two cents worth in when needed."

As she helped Lana into a more comfortable sitting position with her back against the crate, Chloe asked, "So what's the last thing you remember?"

"Let's see, oh Clark, if you see any water, I could really use a drink."

"No problem, Lana."

With a serious, thoughtful expression adorning her face, Lana began, "We had gone to Metropolis U. on a class field trip. We spent the morning touring the campus and then after lunch we were going to break up into smaller groups and visit the departments that interested us most.

"We were having lunch in the student union when who should we run into, but Lex Luthor.

"He said he was on campus to get a progress report and to do a budget review for a physics project that Luthor Corp. was sponsoring.

"He invited us to tag along and see some of the behind the scene activity since he knew of Clark's interest in science.

"You and I decided to go along since we had a couple of hours to kill before our appointments at the journalism and business departments." Lana thought but didn't say that both she and Chloe enjoyed hanging with Clark even if it meant sitting through some boring physics stuff.

"Pete begged off with some story about a girl, but we both know he would find any excuse not to spend time with Lex."

"I think this time there really was a girl," responded Chloe. "Although not as exciting as Pete let on. We talked on the bus ride and the girl is a cousin of his mom's who works in the law school. You know how Pete's mom wants him to follow her into the legal profession."

"Yeah, Pete has mentioned it several times at the Talon," answered Lana. "So anyway, the three of us went over to the Physics building with Lex. Once we got there and met Professor Carey they scrounged up a grad student to give us the fifty-cent tour while they had their meeting.

"After touring through several labs and letting Clark play in the virtual reality room for a while, we went back to Professor Carey's lab. When we got there Lex was yelling about some unauthorized tests. He seemed more upset then I ever remember."

"You know Lex is a control freak," said Chloe. "We found out later that Carey was months further along with the experiments then he had told Lex and Lex really wanted to be present for the first test."

"Here is where things start getting unclear for me," said Lana. "What were the experiments? All I know is the Professor and Lex were shouting at each other. Lex said he was going to remove the professor from the project and the professor responded by saying the work was his and so would be the rewards. Next the professor starting powering up the equipment and soon a scuffle broke out between them. Clark pulled Lex back and then the professor grabbed me, pulling me back through some kind of a doorway in the back wall of the lab. I don't really remember a doorway in that wall when we entered the lab, but as we passed through I must have blacked out or hit my head. The next thing I remember is waking up here. I woke up several times and finally the last time you and Clark were bending over me."

"Several times?" asked Chloe. "How long do you think you have been here?"

"I don't know; eight or ten hours, I guess, I was pretty groggy."

"That's strange. It hasn't been more than an hour since the professor pulled you through the portal."

"It definitely felt like more than an hour, must be the bump on the head," said Lana ruefully as she raised her hand and once more gingerly touched the lump on the back of her head. "So what is this portal you keep talking about?"

"Here's where Lex's techno-babble starts. The simple version is that after the original meteor shower, Lionel Luthor had some of the meteor rocks shipped to the University Physics department for study.

"After years of work they came up with some interesting properties. One of which was that they could somehow use them to open up wormholes large enough to travel through."

"Wormholes?" asked Lana.

"Think of it," said Chloe, "like the gates on 'Stargate' except it doesn't transport you between different worlds just between different places on this one. I haven't really thought out all of the implications, but if they can perfect it and get the cost down, LuthorCorp could replace the whole airline industry. Why spend hours sitting on an airplane, if you could get there instantly through a portal."

"Wow and all that power in Lionel Luthor's hands." remarked Lana.

"Actually, I get the impression Lex has managed to cut his father out of the loop on this one."

Just then Clark walked back up and said, "Lex was worried about you and didn't know where the Professor had taken you. He wanted to follow you through and get you back himself."

"Perhaps I am being cynical," interjected Chloe, "but I think Lex would do anything to keep from risking going public before he is ready."

"Whatever his motivation, it seemed to make sense to follow before the trail got cold." said Clark giving Lex the benefit of the doubt, as usual. "You could have been anywhere in the world. Lex knew enough to initiate the sequence after the system had an hour to recharge, but could not figure out how to read the destination without risking losing the settings."

"Of course, Clark was determined to go along and remembering how many times it seems like Clark has saved you, me, and Lex in the past year, it kind of made sense."

"Come on Chloe, don't make me into some kind of super-hero." said Clark.

"Clark," grinned Lana, "you do know Chloe has started a second Wall of the Weird focused just on the subject 'Clark saves the day'?"

"What!" exclaimed Clark and Chloe. Both quickly found themselves blushing, although for slightly different reasons.

Clark was wondering how long Chloe had been collecting information and when would she realize some of his secrets? Now that they were getting closer, he had been thinking about letting her in on his powers. But he had talked with his Mom and Dad and they both urged caution. Once she knew about his secret her life could be at more risk than from just your everyday Smallville meteor freak. 'Remember that corrupt Metropolis police officer and how he almost destroyed our family' had said his mom. But if Chloe was keeping score, a decision might be needed sooner rather than later.

Of course, Chloe knew nothing about Clark's powers. She was simply embarrassed it looked like she had been following Clark around like some grade school girl with a crush. And then to have the topic come up just days after Clark had finally asked her on 'real' date. God, she hoped this wasn't going to screw everything up between them after she had waited so very long.

After an awkward pause, Chloe said, "Well, Lana, if I knew you were going to tell my secrets, I might not have come along to save you."

"Save me or get the story, Miss Journalist?"

Fortunately for everyone, Lex walked back into the room just then.

"Did you get Lana brought up to date?" asked Lex.

"More or less," said Chloe with a glare towards Lana.

Lex immediately saw the tension in the room and while not certain what was the immediate cause, he was well aware the Lana, Chloe, Clark triangle was still finding a new shape after the Clark-o-meter's recent swing from Lana towards Chloe.

Time to get things focused back on their current situation, he thought.

"Very interesting facility the professor has created here. I don't quite see how he paid for it, as it wasn't in any of the past budgets."

"Interesting in what way?" asked Clark.

"All of these rooms are recessed back into a cliff face. You get outside via a secret panel. And from the outside it looks like, of all things, a small Greek or Roman temple."

"A Greek temple?" whispered Chloe as a chill ran down her spine.

She reached over and took Clark's hand. He looked over at her, a little surprised at this show of affection, until he saw how spooked she was.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I don't want to sound like a bad movie, but I have a bad feeling all of a sudden," she responded.

Lex said, "I agree. Something seems very strange. Remember near the end of the last Indiana Jones movie where they ride into this secret deep canyon and they find those old Roman buildings built into the side of the canyon?"

The others all nodded.

"The outside of this facility is very similar. Okay, the temple is not as large and the climate looks more alpine than desolate desert, but still it is a Roman temple in a deep canyon."

"What were you expecting, Lex?" asked Lana.

"Oh, for second stage testing they needed to set up the receiver site some distance from Metropolis University. I would have guessed a warehouse somewhere, perhaps Gotham City. I would never have guessed a site like this. And I am not even sure where we are. With the deep canyon I can't get a connection with my cell phone."

"Can't worrying about where this facility is wait for another day?" asked Clark. "We came to find Lana, so why can't we just take the portal back to the U?"

"Unfortunately, we can't. I realize my first responsibility is to get you guy's back home safely. However after taking a quick look around outside, I went back to the portal room. While I am not intimately familiar with the details of the system, I spent a few minutes looking over the equipment and reviewing the computer files. Apparently before he left, the professor removed the meteor rocks that allow the portal to be opened from this end. Therefore, boys and girls, it looks like we are going to be walking back to civilization."

"Walking?" said Lana as she glanced down at her feet. Everyone else followed her glance. It had been a cool spring day in Metropolis and Lana was appropriately dressed in gray tweed slacks, white blouse and a short black leather jacket. Appropriate except for the open-toe shoes with three-inch heels.

Everyone, of course, glanced at Chloe's feet next. Penny loafers. Not the ideal shoes for a hike, but better than high heels.

Clark in his usual work boots was the only one really ready for a long hike over rough terrain.

"Any idea how far?" asked Clark, finally.

"No, idea." responded Lex. "But we should assume the worst and inventory supplies before setting off. Water, food, etc."

"While you were out I looked in some of the crates. If I didn't know better, I would think the professor was involved in some kind of archaeological treasure hunt," said Clark.

"What?"

"Several of the crates are full of old gold and silver coins, pottery, and tapestries."

"Well, everyone put a few gold coins in your pockets as souvenirs courtesy of Luthor Corp. and Professor Carey and then let's look for some food, water, canteens, bedrolls, rope, knives, and anything else that looks handy," directed Lex.

Clark realized he needed to get a few minutes alone to try and determine where they were and if the immediate area was safe. "Hey Lex, I didn't see any facilities around here and I . . . Ahh . . . need to take a leak. Can you show me how to work the secret front door before we start looking for supplies?"

"Yeah," amended Lana, "me, too. Why do you think the professor would build this place without a bathroom?"

Heading towards the front entrance Lex responded, "It does seem strange. Perhaps this place already existed and he just adapted it for his needs. Then again maybe he only spent a few hours at a time here setting up the equipment."

Clark stood up to head outside, pulling Chloe to her feet at the same time. "Come along outside, a few minutes in the fresh air will have you feeling better."

"I am feeling better already. When Lex mentioned the Greek temple facade, I had a brief premonition or a moment of deja vu or something. But it was only a moment and then gone." However that wasn't entirely true. No, it wasn't some vague feeling which had caused her reaction. She knew exactly what was the cause; it was the long ago day when she had first met Clark and Whitney. She had spent countless hours since then thinking about the tidbits of information she had learned. Would today be the day some of those events finally became clear?

As they exited the temple, everyone looked up at the steep canyon walls extending several hundred feet above their heads. The small portion of the sky visible was a pretty, deep blue without a cloud in sight. Here at the bottom of the canyon the temperature was near ninety degrees, a major change from the cool, windy sixty-five they had experienced in Metropolis a short hour ago.

Lex turned and looked at the others. "Okay, someone say it."

The others looked at each other, grinned, and shouted in unison: "I DON'T THINK WE ARE IN KANSAS ANYMORE, TOTO." and started laughing.

After the laughter died down, everyone turned to admire the front of the structure. The temple was not large compared to the towering cliffs above, only about fifteen feet wide and twenty feet high with the roof supported by four large Ionic columns. The only object inside the small building was an altar table set to one side. Behind the altar was the hidden entrance to the secret facility. Otherwise, the interior was bare except for a large fresco on the rear wall. It was a simple pastoral scene of a forest glade with a group of nymphs cavorting around a small pool. The fresco itself was in a poor, deteriorated condition; several large chunks had flaked away and a large water stain from a leak in the roof marred the left side.

As the others continued looking over the temple, Chloe pulled her digital camera out of her shoulder bag. "Come on everyone, group shot in front of the temple. This will be a great human-interest angle for my story. 'First Portal Travelers visit A Greek Temple' by Chloe Sullivan. Maybe I can even get it into The Daily Planet."

Lex frowned, "Ah, Chloe that sounds more like an Inquisitor story than one for the Planet. Anyway remember our deal. If you came along, you would hold the story until I was ready to go public with the technology."

"I remember, Lex. Still I would like the photo even if it is just for us."

After Chloe had taken a couple of shots, Clark said, "I am just going to go down around the next bend for a couple of minutes."

Walking a hundred feet down the canyon, Clark rounded the bend and shifted into speed-running mode. He had at least five minutes before the others would become concerned and start looking for him. Perhaps he should have commented about reading material to buy a few more minutes. No, five minutes should be enough time to check things well ahead and if he was lucky, catch up with the professor. He had a lot to answer for after dragging Lana through the portal and then stranding them all here.

Four miles down the canyon it merged with another canyon widening from twenty feet at the bottom to almost fifty feet and adding a small swift stream. The trail Clark was following stayed small and looked little used in recent months.

Two miles further and the canyon widen briefly into a small meadow. A tree lined pond looked like a perfect break spot for the hike out. Still no signs of people, so Clark pressed on.

After five or six miles of further twists and turns, the end of the canyon came into sight with a view of a large plain beyond. Clark could see a high stone wall had been built across the entrance to the canyon except for a ten-foot gap in the center through which the stream and path passed. He accelerated even faster as he shot through the gap so any one on the other side wouldn't see him. He didn't slow down until he was in a grove of trees several hundred yards past the wall.

When he looked back towards the wall he received a major shock.

"Shit," he whispered under his breath, glad his mother wasn't there to hear him.

Looking off to the right along the base of the hill he saw further proof that his first sight hadn't been just a dream. What did all this mean? What were they going to do now? At least he now had some understanding of the things they found in the crates.

Clark stood in the trees for a minute trying to come up with a plan. Finally, he knew he needed to get back before the others missed him. At least it was unlikely they would be disturbed until they reached the wall. With a full afternoon's hike to get there, hopefully he could come up with a solution on how to proceed by then.

So once more Clark accelerated to top speed, shot past the wall and started retracing his steps back to the temple. As he ran he wondered, for the first time, if letting his friends in on his secret might be necessary to get out of this situation.

End of Chapter One


	2. Portal Chapter 2

Chapter Two  
  
Clark pulled off his red sweatshirt as he rounded the corner and came into view of the temple. Lana and Chloe were just walking up from the other direction. As they all approached the temple, Lex was standing there looking between the sky and his watch.  
  
"Clark, wouldn't you say it is about noon here?"  
  
Clark looked up at the sun. "Yeah, so?"  
  
"Since it is three p.m. by my watch, we must be about three time zones west of Metropolis."  
  
Chloe and Lana both looked at their watches, too. Chloe looked back up as Lex continued, but Lana just kept looking at her watch frowning.  
  
"Also since it seems so warm here, I am guessing we are in California or maybe Baja Mexico."  
  
Lana looked up, "It's strange, but my watch says ten p.m. not three and appears to be working okay."  
  
The others gathered around for a look. Finally, Chloe spoke. "I don't understand how it is possible, but it goes along with your feeling that you had been tied up here a lot longer than an hour. Lex, you're the expert, do you know how Lana and the professor could have left Metropolis U. one hour before us and arrive here seven hours before us?"  
  
"All of the theories I saw said the transition is instantaneous. I have no idea what it means however the professor was six months further along with the hardware than he told me, so there are probably other things he didn't clue me in on either." Lex made a mental note to do a thorough review of all of his other projects when he got back.  
  
Clark was certain he knew the answer, but explaining it now would mean explaining how he got ten miles down the canyon and back in five minutes. Hopefully, if he waited a while, a solution would present itself that wouldn't require revealing his secrets.  
  
"Whether it is three or ten, it looks like we are going to miss the bus back to Smallville. What about notifying our families?" asked Lana.  
  
"While we were waiting for the equipment to recycle, I had Chloe call her Dad and Nell and Clark call his parents to tell them I had given you tickets for tonight's Avril Lavigne concert. After the concert my limo would take you back to Smallville. So we have about twelve hours to get back or at least reach a phone."  
  
"Well, by my watch we have about five hours," responded Lana. "Let's get a move on."  
  
The others all agreed and trooped back into the temple to look for supplies.  
  
With a few minutes work they had scrounged up a couple of canteens, a box of granola bars, three knapsacks, and some blankets. Lex suggested everyone put a few of the coins in their pockets or handbags as souvenirs. Clark realized the coins would come in handy and filled his knapsack. Fortunately, sixty pounds of gold doesn't take up as much space as you would think.  
  
----------------  
  
After two hours of steady walking they arrived at the wide spot in the canyon where the pool had formed. The pool, forty feet wide and crystal clear, looked incredibly inviting on such a hot summery day.  
  
A sandy beach had formed where the path skirted the pond. As they walked up Lana remarked, "From here it looks just like the fresco back in the temple."  
  
"All it is missing are the nymphs," said Lex. "Any volunteers?"  
  
"Dream on, Lex," said Chloe as she and Lana shared a grin.  
  
Lex grinned back and quirked an eyebrow. Then returning to a straight face said, "I think this looks like the perfect place to take a break and go for a swim to cool off."  
  
"We don't have any swimsuits, Lex" responded Clark.  
  
"We don't need swimsuits or at least I don't. There are times when my bad boy image comes in handy," said Lex as he started to strip. "I suggest you take this opportunity to cool off, who knows how long until we will get another chance."  
  
"Lex, some of us are not as wild as you." Lana said with a blush, looking away as Lex finished stripping and headed for the water.  
  
Lex ran out into the water until it was past his knees and then dove in. After a few seconds his bald head broke the surface. Looking back towards the others he shouted, "The water is great, just the right amount of chill." As the others fidgeted on the shore he continued, "Oh come on, if you're that shy just leave your underwear on."  
  
Chloe, who had not looked away as Lex had performed his strip and dash display, glanced over at Clark. "I have kind of wondered about that Michael Jordan question."  
  
"What Michael Jordan question?" asked Clark as he turned his attention to Chloe.  
  
After glancing down at his belt buckle, Chloe looked him in the eye, "You know, boxers or briefs?"  
  
"Are you serious?" Clark asked wishing for once that his powers included the ability to read Chloe's mind.  
  
At this point Lana decided to get into the spirit of things. "Yeah, Clark. Boxers or briefs?"  
  
"Well, if you really must know, should I tell you or show you?" Clark said with a pretended sigh of exasperation.  
  
"Show us," exclaimed the girls clapping their hands.  
  
Clark gave a surprisingly bashful smile then proceeded to pull off his tee shirt.  
  
Immediately Chloe got Goosebumps thinking about running her hands over that perfectly chiseled chest. In the couple of years she had lived in Smallville she had only seen Clark shirtless a few of times. And each time set her heart aflutter.  
  
Lana too was impressed. Obviously hard work on the farm made up for never playing any sports. Clark had nothing to be ashamed of even compared to a jock like Whitney.  
  
After a few seconds of the girls just staring at him, Clark finally asked, "Well, should I continue?"  
  
"Oh, definitely," whispered Chloe looking back up at his eyes.  
  
Clark leaned back against a large boulder for a moment to remove his boots and socks. Then standing straight again he undid his belt. With one quick motion he lowered his jeans, paused for a moment to give the girls one good look, then sprint at almost super-speed out into the pond and then dove underneath.  
  
Boxers. With large Wiley Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon characters.  
  
The girls started giggling. Laughing. Laughing hysterically. Finally, long after Clark had surfaced, they calmed down.  
  
Lex swam over and chuckled, "Just the right dash of Kent charm, Clark."  
  
With a quick grin to Lex, Clark shouted, "Who's next?"  
  
After a quick sideways glance at Chloe, Lana took a deep breath and shouted back, "Me."  
  
Clark couldn't help but smile for a second as he thought back to the only other time he had seen Lana strip down to her underwear. That time at the school pool when she had been under the influence of the Necrodemis plant. But this time was different; Lana was doing it of her own free will, which made it so much hotter.  
  
Last time she had worn the sexiest burgundy bra and panties, but that had been under the influence of the plant. What about this time? Clark already knew that today she had on a black bra as the heat-induced perspiration had made her white blouse translucence during the hike from the temple.  
  
While Clark was lost in thought, Lana had proceeded to lean back against the same boulder as Clark had and removed her high heels. After taking a minute to rub the backs of her feet, Lana removed and folded her slacks. Throughout this movement the long tails of her blouse had protected her modesty.  
  
Finally the moment arrived and Lana unbuttoned and removed the blouse. After a momentary pose and a quick pirouette, she strolled down and into the pond with just a little extra roll of the hips.  
  
Like the brassiere these panties were black. Unlike Clark's previous experience, this set was designed for comfort, not to entice. Actually, Clark thought, she probably has a swimsuit that is more revealing than this.  
  
After a quick dive to the bottom, Lana surfaced and swam over between Clark and Lex. Looking back towards shore, Lana shouted, "The water IS great, Chloe. Come on down."  
  
As she started to remove her shoes, Chloe thought to herself, 'Well, this is going to be interesting. I would have to pick today to wear my sexiest underwear. When I got up this morning and knew there would be a three-hour bus ride each way to sit with Clark; it had seemed like such a good idea to feel a little extra sexy. But this day has just not been going the way I had expected. First, Lana tells Clark about my secret 'Clark' wall and Clark must think I'm crazy. And now when Clark sees me undressed he is going to think I am some kind of a slut. Oh well, guess I am just going to have to grin and bare it.'  
  
Chloe had to grin briefly at her own pun. And grinning did make it a little easier. By this time she had her shoes off and turned in profile to remove her skirt. Finally, off came her blouse and she turn towards the others out in the water.  
  
Lex gave out a low whistle under his breath. Clark just stared like he was hypnotized. Chloe was wearing a completely shear, light green bra and panties. A light green, just the shade of her eyes. And not even a hint of lace work for some pretended modesty.  
  
The spell was broken when Lana shouted, "Way to go, Sullivan." After the boys let go with a couple of catcall whistles and a round of applause, Chloe did her own pirouette showing of the thong panties from the back.  
  
Turning back to the water she gave a quick bow and called out, "Okay, you guys have had your fun. How about turning your heads while I get into the water?"  
  
Lex and Clark both sobered up a little and nodded in agreement before turning towards the other side of the pool.  
  
While Lana continued to look on she was surprised to see Chloe strip off the underwear and toss it on the neatly folded stack of her other clothes. Then she calmly walked out into the water and swam over to the others.  
  
As she got close, Lana raised her eyebrows in an unasked question. Chloe answered her, "It's not like they were covering anything. Besides I hate to get my favorite pair wet and yucky from pond water and mud. Come to think of it at the moment they are not just my favorite pair, but my only pair, at least until we get back to civilization."  
  
At this, the guys turned back and discovered that Lex was not the only one swimming in the nude.  
  
"Ah hmmm, guys," Chloe said, "looking, but no touching, okay?"  
  
Both guys nodded and Chloe knew it was going to be okay. If there were two guys she could trust it was Clark and Lex. Lex, because he could have any woman he wanted, and also had the iron will not to break the contract implied by that nod of his head to a friend. And Clark, well just because he was Clark.  
  
They spent about ten minutes playing around in the cool, refreshing water. No one did any touching. Neither Lana nor Clark felt compelled to remove their underwear just to fit in.  
  
Eventually, Lex spoke up; "I'm starting to feel the chill. I am going to stretch out in the sun for a few minutes before we get on our way. I don't know how much further we have to go, but I would like to push on soon and hope we reach some shelter before it gets dark."  
  
The others agreed. However before starting towards shore Clark called to Chloe. By the time she swam over the others were walking up onto shore. Chloe looked into Clark's eyes and waited for him to speak.  
  
"Ahh," Clark stammered, "can . . . Ahh . . . I . . . ahh."  
  
"Just say it Clark," interrupted Chloe with a small smile on her face.  
  
Rushing it out, Clark said. "Can I kiss you?" Then looked slightly embarrassed thinking he may have stepped over an unspoken line.  
  
Chloe looked thoughtful for a minute and then did a very obvious glance down at Clark's boxers. Clark looked down too. No apparent bulge. Looking back at Chloe's face he shrugged saying, "The water is pretty cold."  
  
Then Clark responded with a glance down of his own. Chloe's nipples were standing out very proud and erect. "Yeah, Clark," she said as Clark looked back up and into her eyes. "You're right the water is cold."  
  
Getting back to the question at hand, Chloe said. "You remember you promised no touching while we are in the water?" Seeing the combination of embarrassment and rejection on his face she relented. "Okay, you can kiss me, but you have to agree to keep your hands behind your back."  
  
Clark quickly nodded his agreement and made a show of putting his hands behind his back.  
  
They were standing in one of the deepest spots in the pool with the water almost reaching to Chloe's shoulders. However Clark was so tall the water was only lapping at the second row of his six pack abs. Chloe made a mental note to look up the names of those muscle groups when she got back home.  
  
Clark tilted his head down as Chloe stepped up to him. Stretching up on her toes, her breasts lifted clear of the water and came into view of the others on shore briefly before they were pressed against the top of Clark's abs. Chloe reached around his neck to maintain her balance against the modest current as her lips finally touched his.  
  
Chloe had planned to keep the kiss simple and chaste. However her emotions started to carry her away. She had been waiting for this moment a lot longer than Clark, ever since she had first seen him on the first day of eighth grade just two weeks after she had arrived in Smallville. Back then she had already attained her full height and Clark had been barely taller than her, it was only in the past year that he had had the big growth spurt to his currently impressive six foot four stature. Even back then there was something special about Clark. Something it felt like she had been looking for almost forever.  
  
Therefore it was not really surprising that Chloe turned out to be the aggressor once the kiss began. After a few seconds Chloe's lips parted and her tongue started to rub along his lower lip.  
  
Clark opened his mouth slightly, in surprise as much as lust when suddenly a massive shiver rippled through Chloe's body. They parted slightly and Clark realized that Chloe was freezing cold. Bringing his hands from behind his back Clark reached for Chloe's hand and started pulling her towards shore. "Let's get you out of this cold water."  
  
As they waded into shore Chloe said, "Thanks, I have wanted to do that for a long time, but why did you ask me just then?"  
  
"I have been looking for a special moment ever since asking you to the dance. However we have never had the right moment alone since then. I know we aren't alone now, but having you next to me and naked, well it was like a fantasy moment that I couldn't let go by."  
  
"Fantasy moment?" inquired Chloe.  
  
"Sure, you know, being able to look back when we are old and remember that you were nude the first time we kissed."  
  
Chloe stopped and looked at Clark and from the expression on her face he knew that something had just happened and that the intimate moment was past. He tried to remember what he said that could have changed things so. It had to be his comment about getting old and implying they would still be together. Didn't Chloe see their relationship as being potentially permanent?  
  
Chloe walked over by Lana, did what she could to straighten her short blonde hair with her fingers and then stretched out on her stomach on the sand to let the sun warm her, somehow managing to look as sweet and shy as possible for a beautiful, naked girl. Clark's comment about growing old had broken the spell and forced her to remember her real situation. At most they could only spend a few years together in a normal relationship.  
  
Meanwhile Lex was stretched out a little ways away in some thick soft grass watching the interplay and thinking, 'Hmmm, this swim certainly turned out more interesting than I expected. The way Chloe managed to strip naked and still take complete control of Clark and to a lesser extent even me. The no touching rule. Clark keeping his hands behind his back while they kissed. She certainly has a natural ability I haven't noticed before. I need to keep an eye on her. When she is older she might fill an important role at Luthor Corp.'  
  
Lana had been laying there with her eyes closed enjoying the heat of the sun after the cold water and wondering, 'If Chloe had volunteered to get in the lake first, what would I have done? I never expected her to just strip and go in naked. Of course, if she wanted to get in the water with that underwear she didn't have much choice. That was also a surprise. After seeing her in gym class I always thought she was the 'Jockey for Girls' type. I guess it is like they say, it is the quiet, shy ones you need to watch out for. Of course, a lot of it must have to do with Clark asking her to the dance. Her self-image seems so much higher. Still, if Chloe had gone first would I have felt compelled to strip also to compete? Maybe so, but I doubt I could have keep things under control like she did. Boy, has this been a long, strange day so far.'  
  
For a few more minutes everyone soaked up the sun. Eventually, Lex had warmed up enough to start to feel the stirrings from being near two naked or near naked girls. Time to get dressed and get the group moving again.  
  
As the others were getting dressed, Lex started searching through the backpacks looking for the granola bars. As he reached to pull Clark's pack towards him, it barely moved. Stepping closer, he used both hands to lift it. Compared to the ten-pound packs he and Chloe had been carrying, Clark's must weigh seventy to eighty pounds. What in the hell was in here? And how had Clark carried it six miles without appearing to work any harder than the others?  
  
"Hey Clark," shouted Lex, "did you fill your backpack with stones just for a more challenging workout?"  
  
Clark looked up from lacing his boots. "I was in the cub scouts and boy scouts in elementary school. They always stressed being prepared. Anyway, it seemed to make sense to bring along more of the gold coins, just in case."  
  
Lex walked over to Clark. "If you felt that way you should have said something, I would have carried half."  
  
"No offense, Lex, but your fencing and home gym are not the same as working on a farm everyday. Besides none of you are wearing shoes designed for walking long distances, let alone carry a heavy pack. For now just let me do it. If it gets to be too much we can decide to split it up or stash part of it."  
  
Lex assented and went to get his pack. By this time the girls were ready to go too. Everyone was both refreshed and more relaxed after the time by the water, but still anxious to be on their way.  
  
End of Chapter Two 


	3. Portal Chapter 3

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
[Author's Note: This story takes place near the end of season one, after Clark invites Chloe to the dance, but before the season finale. At the moment, I find the Clark-Chloe pairing more interesting than Clark-Lana. While I haven't got the entire story finished, it looks to be headed Alternate Universe. Finally, this is my first attempt at a story, so hopefully it is readable and somewhat interesting to others besides me.]  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
Chapter Three  
  
As they moved away from the pond Chloe walked up next to Clark and took his hand. "Sorry about my reaction before, " said Chloe quietly, "things were suddenly moving too fast."  
  
"So you're not mad at me?" asked Clark with a hopeful tone in his voice.  
  
"Of course not. Is it okay to say I dreamed about kissing you for a long time? And until three days ago it seemed like it was going to stay that way. Then all of a sudden a kiss seemed not only possible, but almost inevitable. Still to find myself kissing you and naked and my body starting to respond to you. Well, if that shiver hadn't interrupted things, I'm not sure if I could have stopped. And that's still a little scary." Chloe gave his hand a squeeze. "I still want to move forward, but maybe just a little slower."  
  
Clark let go of Chloe's hand, then reached around her waist and pulled her closer. "Slower I can handle." After they had walked in silence for several minutes Clark asked, "Is it okay if I fantasize about you in that underwear? You were unbelievably hot."  
  
Chloe blushed a little. "Do you really think so?"  
  
"Ohhh, yes, I have never seen anything as hot in my life."  
  
Teasingly Chloe responded, "So have you seen a lot of other naked girls to make a fair comparison?"  
  
Meanwhile Lex and Lana moved out ahead of the others to give them a few minutes of privacy.  
  
"How are you holding up?" asked Lex.  
  
"Well considering I have been kidnapped, hit over the head, and walked miles in high heels, not too bad." responded Lana.  
  
"Sorry I got you into this," said Lex. "If I had known Prof. Carey was going to do something like that, I never would have invited you to the lab."  
  
"Didn't you think something like this was inevitable using the meteor rocks? I mean every weird thing that's happened to us in the past year seems to trace back to meteor rocks."  
  
Lex stared into the gurgling stream running along the path for a few seconds before responding. "This project was started long before all of the weirdness started to happen in Smallville, so I never thought about it. Have you really found a pattern? Are the meteor rocks always involved?"  
  
"Generally the meteor rocks are involved. Lately since I have become a closer friend with Chloe, I have been talking to her about her wall of the weird. Recently she has computerized the wall and some interesting correlation's have popped out."  
  
"Like what?" asked Lex.  
  
"81% of all 'weird' events in Smallville in the past year somehow relate to meteor rocks. And the actual correlation is probably higher as these were the only ones Chloe could verify. However there is one thing with an even higher correlation to 'weird' events."  
  
"Which is?" asked Lex although he already suspected the answer.  
  
"Clark. 92% of the time he is somehow involved."  
  
"His correlation is really that high? Is that why Clark rated his own wall of the weird?"  
  
"In part," said Lana, "but also because Chloe has had a crush on him for a long time." And at the same time Clark was fixated on you, thought Lex. "So you mix Prof. Carey with his meteor rocks and Clark Kent with his 92% factor and weirdness is almost guaranteed."  
  
"Hmmm, just out of curiosity how do the rest of us correlate to the weirdness according to Chloe's database?" asked Lex.  
  
"I don't remember the exact percentages, but it seemed to be related to the amount of time you spend around Clark. Chloe was around 60%, Pete and I around 50%, and you were about 40%."  
  
Lex walked along pondering this. First of all, why hadn't it occurred to him that a sufficient number of incidents had happened to make computer based correlation a viable approach? And to be outdone by a high school girl. Okay, Chloe had been researching it longer than he had and had access to more information. But still, to be outdone by a young girl took him down a notch. He had never considered anyone in Smallville to be his equal, even outside of Smallville only his father seemed his equal. One more reason to keep an eye on Chloe.  
  
And then his friend, Clark. Yeah, he did seem to be around whenever something weird was going on, but to have a higher correlation than the meteor rocks. Exactly what did it mean?  
  
Just then the subject of his thoughts came running up.  
  
"I saw a flash of light up near the next bend in the canyon about a half- mile ahead," whispered Clark as he started to guide them off of the path. "Someone is coming and I think we should take cover in the trees until we know who it is."  
  
Lex glanced back along the trail, but didn't immediately see Chloe. After a little searching, he saw her moving forward under the cover of the trees.  
  
Before Lex or Lana had time to object or concur Clark already had them in a sheltered position that couldn't be seen from the path ahead.  
  
In another minute Chloe had reached their position. "Is this really necessary?" she asked.  
  
"Better safe than sorry," said Clark. "We are a long way from home and don't really know what is going on."  
  
"I agree," said Lex. "Anyone have a good reason for not taking the cautious approach?" he continued looking toward the girls.  
  
They both shook their heads no. So everyone settled back to wait.  
  
After ten long, nerve-wracking minutes, they all could hear someone approaching. From the sheltered position they had found, whoever was approaching wouldn't be visible until they were even with them.  
  
Finally, two men came into view and quickly moved passed on their way up the canyon.  
  
Lex, Lana, and Chloe were all so stunned by what they had seen that none of them even thought to speak until the men had moved around the next bend in the canyon.  
  
Lana found her tongue first. "Okay, drug dealers I could handle. Or secret military organizations. But why would two guys be hiking up the canyon in full ancient Roman soldier outfits including breastplates on a hot day like this? One of those re-enactment things like the civil war fanatics put on?"  
  
"If so," said Chloe, "they are pretty hard-core, speaking Latin too."  
  
"Latin?" asked Lana. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Definitely," injected Lex. "Chloe, I didn't know you spoke Latin."  
  
The others all turned and looked at her.  
  
"Ahh . . ." Chloe stammered. Where is that quick wit when I need it? This is one of those questions I never expected to come up. "The summer between seventh and eighth grades, just before I moved to Smallville, my Dad sent me to one of those total immersion summer camps for a month."  
  
"I don't remember you ever mentioning it before," said Clark.  
  
"I didn't want to seem like a total geek the first time I met my new classmates and after that the subject never came." she answered. Then trying to divert the subject she asked, "What about you, Lex? Where did you learn Latin?"  
  
"I had a couple of years in college. My father felt it was important that I should be able to read some of the classics like Machiavelli's The Prince and Dante's Divine Comedy in the original."  
  
"But I think we better focus on the current situation. Why would two guys dressed as Romans and speaking Latin be walking up this canyon? Thoughts anyone?" continued Lex.  
  
For several minutes no one spoke. Clark finally spoke up to get them thinking in the right direction based on his earlier observations during his run down the canyon. "Maybe they are real."  
  
"What do you mean, 'Maybe they are real'?" asked Lana.  
  
"If you asked me this morning, when I got off of the bus, if it was possible to instantaneously travel a great distance, I would have said it was pure science fiction. Right now time travel doesn't seem any more outlandish."  
  
"Time travel," said Lex with a thoughtful expression. "I did see one or two papers on the feasibility of time travel via wormholes. It would explain a few things."  
  
"Like what," asked Chloe as she experienced another shiver down her spine.  
  
"Why Lana appeared to arrive seven hours before the rest of us. And why Prof. Carey looked about ten years older than when I saw him six months ago. I naturally assumed it was due to stress and overwork, but now . . ." he trailed off.  
  
Chloe spoke up. "Sitting here is not going to resolve anything. We have two choices, first go question the two guys headed up the canyon or second continue down the canyon and collect more data."  
  
Lex said, "I vote we continue down the canyon. If we get clear of this canyon, we can try the cell phones again. Plus those guys had swords, no point tangling with them, if it can be avoided. And neither of them is the professor and finding him is suddenly looking more important."  
  
No one could disagree with Lex's logic so they continued down the canyon. The going was much slower now, as they tried to stay undercover as much as possible while simultaneously watching their backs, in case the two soldiers returned.  
  
It was near dusk when they came in sight of the wall across the entrance to the canyon. With the large plain visible beyond, Lex pulled out his cellphone and tried to get signal.  
  
"My phone doesn't lock on any signal. How about yours, Chloe?" asked Lex.  
  
Chloe pulled her phone out of her shoulder bag. "No signal on mine either."  
  
Lana looked from one to the other. "Couldn't we just be in a remote area or out of the country?"  
  
"That is the most likely situation," responded Lex. "Still . . ." he trailed off.  
  
"Look," said Clark. "It is almost dark. How about as soon as it is dark enough, I go over the wall and reconnoiter. I can get over the end near the canyon wall, no problem."  
  
"I should be the one to go," said Lex. "I got you into this."  
  
"Lex, how much time have you spent in the wilderness? Every fall since I was ten I have gone deer hunting with my Dad. Four glorious days of hiking and camping out in Miller's woods. I need to be the one to do this."  
  
Lex frowned, when did I lose the leadership of this group?  
  
"Fine, Clark, you go."  
  
"I'll be back as soon as I can," said Clark as he headed up towards the wall.  
  
As soon as he was hidden by the darkness, Clark picked up the pace. Reaching the wall, he cleared it with a single bound, landing lightly on the other side.  
  
The first thing Clark did was head for the small town he had seen on his earlier trip down the canyon. He needed to find them some appropriate clothes so that they could blend in until they found the Professor.  
  
Although Clark didn't know it yet, he was approaching the Roman garrison town of Tolosa on the French side of the Pyrenees that would one day become the French City of Toulouse. However now it was a typical Roman garrison town; high dirt wall, closed wooden gate, and all.  
  
The town was laid out in the standard square street plan. The main military, civilian, and religious building were located around a central forum; not that Clark was interested in that at the moment. He was looking for a house where he could score some clothes.  
  
Sticking to the darker back alleys, Clark worked his way towards the more prosperous part of town. If they were going to blend in, they might as well go first class. Eventually, he found a darkened villa. Using his x- ray vision, he saw only one couple sleeping in a room near the back. Probably caretakers thought Clark.  
  
Quietly, Clark entered the house searching for clothes. Ben Hur. Spartacus. Gladiator. What did the well dressed Roman citizen's wear? The best he could come up with were an assortment of white robe/toga things. But nothing that seemed to fall into the proper category of underwear, things might be a little breezy until they figured that one out. Also he located several backpacks to replace their contemporary ones.  
  
It had been ten minutes since he left the others, time to head back before they did something foolish.  
  
Bundling the clothing into one of the backpacks, Clark left the villa. Finding a dark spot in the surrounding dirt barrier wall, he was quickly over it and headed back towards the canyon.  
  
Two guards were stationed outside the passage through the wall into the canyon. They were sitting by a small fire chatting about the previous day's chariot races while waiting for their shift to end at midnight. They had been pulling the evening shift for the past six months and it had always been easy duty.  
  
As Clark approached the wall, he realized it would be easiest for the others to leave through the passage. Plus the soldiers' uniforms and swords might come in handy. Although Clark hated to hurt innocent people, he quickly tapped them over the head and dragged them through the passage and on to where the others were hiding.  
  
"Lex, give me a hand with these guys." Clark announced as he approached.  
  
As the others stood up, he continued, "We need to strip off their clothes and tie them up before they come to."  
  
As always, Lex was impressed by Clark's strength. While the two men were not large by modern standards, together they weighed over three hundred pounds, but Clark was dragging them like they weighed twenty pounds each.  
  
"We need to move quickly and get to the grove of trees on the other side of wall before someone comes looking for these guys." said Clark. "I have found a change of clothes for everyone but we can wait till we are clear of here before changing. Be sure to get all of our gear, so no one will know we have been here."  
  
After tying up the soldiers he handed one of the swords to Lex. "Lex, in all of your fencing training did you ever use one like this?"  
  
As he accepted the sword he said, "It's called a Gladius, the Roman short sword. And no I have never used one."  
  
While Lex took a couple of experimental swings, Lana said, "I hope you don't need to use it."  
  
"Me, too." said Lex lowering the sword. "Guys who used these spent years training full-time."  
  
Soon they had all of their gear collected and were heading through the wall. As they crossed the road that ran past the canyon, Clark pointed to the left, "See the town over there. No sign of electric lights, but I think we are going to have to check it out in the morning to see if we can find a lead on the Professor."  
  
As they entered the cover of the trees, Chloe asked, "So, are we really back in time?"  
  
"It's looking more and more like it" answered Clark looking for a secure spot to spend the night and stash their gear.  
  
Birds singing. Wind rustling the trees. Clark awoke just as the sky was getting light. This was his favorite time of day, before all of the hustle and bustle of the farm day begins.  
  
All of a sudden he remember where he was. Reaching out he touched Chloe curled up beside him. Shaking her lightly by the shoulder, "Chloe, time to wake up."  
  
Rubbing her eyes, "Clark, what are you doing here . . . oh, it wasn't all just a dream, was it?" she asked. Looking around she took in the small clearing in which they had been sleeping. A few feet away Lex and Lana were still asleep. Sitting up she heard a stream gurgling nearby. "Clark, I need to go wash my face."  
  
Clark had already scanned the area with his x-ray and knew it was clear. "Okay, I am going to check out the area before waking the others. Be careful."  
  
About ten minutes later they both returned to the campsite and woke the others.  
  
"Well, Clark now that we have some light let's see what clothing you found us." said Chloe as she opened the backpack Clark had acquired the night before.  
  
While Chloe was sorting through the robes in the bag, Clark was trying on the clothes he had liberated from one of the guards.  
  
After putting on the robe Clark said, "Good thing these are 'one size fits all' or I would have a hard time finding anything in my size. What do you think?" he asked Chloe as he held up the breastplate.  
  
"Very cute, but I think you should just wear the leather vest that goes under the breastplate, unless your goal is to be sucked into the Roman Legion." she answered and Clark quickly dropped the breastplate.  
  
As Lana and Lex returned from the stream Chloe turned to them. "Hurry up and change clothes. I want to hike into town and find some breakfast."  
  
"What about the granola bars?" asked Lana as she started checking out the robes.  
  
"I think we should save them for an emergency. Besides, if we are going to risk visiting the town, we might as well do it in time for breakfast." While Chloe was talking she had casually stripped off her clothing from the day before and slipped into one of the robes. What little modesty she had shown the day before was not evident this morning.  
  
Lana had noticed Chloe changing, "Ah, don't you want a little privacy while you change?"  
  
"When in Rome, Lana. Modesty about the human body was not the same back then. Didn't you ever see that show on the Discovery or Learning Channel about the open-air bathrooms arranged around the public square? The long rows of stone seats with the openings to the flowing water below, where the people could 'do their business' while socializing."  
  
"We don't have cable at my house so I guess I missed that one," answered Lana. "But just the thought, Brrr, . . . a guys, I am really, really ready to go home now."  
  
As the others, still sort of modestly, started changing, Chloe said to Clark, "Wherever you got these clothes, you forgot something important."  
  
"I didn't have much time and didn't see anything that looked like underwear." said  
  
"I am not talking about underwear." As Clark looked over, she held up one foot and wiggled her toes at him.  
  
"Shoes." he said.  
  
"Yeah, I'm not excited about hiking too far barefooted. One more item to acquire when we get to town. I think it's a good thing you brought along all of the extra gold coins. We may need to buy a lot of supplies before we are done."  
  
Once everyone had changed, Lex and Clark set to work secreting their 21st century belongings so that they wouldn't be easily found, yet marked so that they would be able to find them on their return.  
  
Everyone's stomachs were grumbling by the time that they made it to the edge of the trees. After making sure the coast was clear, they stepped out onto the road and turned towards the town.  
  
While finding a secluded spot the night before they had drifted in the opposite direction from the town. Now they had a little over a mile to travel before reaching the earth embankment surrounding the town.  
  
To break the silence, Chloe said. "Clark, do you remember the time I got pushed out of the second floor window at Lex's mansion?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"And when you stopped by the hospital room and made out as though it was all your fault?" she continued with the start of a grin.  
  
Clark was not sure where she was headed with this, particularly with the expression on her face. Cautiously he said, "Yeah."  
  
"I then said that not only did I hold you responsible for my accident but also a whole bunch of other things up to and including the fall of the Roman Empire. You did understand I was kidding, right? Right? You didn't arrange all of this," and she waved her hand taking in the hills, and town, and plain, "Because of my comments?" Her grin was getting broader.  
  
"Ummm, and if I said I did," said Clark with a smile as he started to get into the spirit of the moment.  
  
"Well now that we are here are you going to a) stop the invasion of the Goths and Vandals who over ran Italy, or b) going back further in time keep Rome a republic as many historians credit the change from a republic to an empire as the start of the decline?"  
  
Clark thought about it for a minute as they happened to be passing the entrance to the walled off canyon. Now there were four guards stationed outside the entrance and several additional men just inside talking to the two naked guards from the night before.  
  
As they walked by, in the immortal words of Hans Solo, they all tried to 'fly casual'. Noticing the activity, but not paying too much attention since none of them was the professor.  
  
"Actually, my plan to prevent the fall of the Roman Empire is to challenge the Emperor to one on one combat and then after I slew him I am going to outlaw the use of lead pipes in the Roman drinking water system. Everyone knows it was lead contamination that destroyed the empire." explained Clark. "Then we are next going to use the time machine to go to 1904 Russia and fluoridate the water to prevent communism. Everything always comes down to the water."  
  
Everyone was laughing by now, as Lex interjected, "Truthfully, Chloe, Clark told me about your comments when you were in the hospital, so I invented the time machine to come back to prevent the fall to help Clark get back in your good graces."  
  
"And how are you going to prevent the fall, Lex?"  
  
"Easy, set up the only accounting firm using the Arabic numbering system and double entry bookkeeping. In a couple of years I'll be 'King of the World'." laughed Lex.  
  
Chloe was still giggling and turned to Lana. "I suppose you were in on it, too. So what is your plan to prevent the fall of the Roman Empire."  
  
"I don't know that I want to prevent the fall. I mean, if the Roman Empire doesn't fall, won't every night at the Talon be Toga night? Toga, Toga, Toga. Wouldn't that get boring after awhile? Would we have a temple at the end of Main Street dedicated to John Belushi?" The thought of which had them all laughing again.  
  
This had kept them pleasantly distracted from the strange and scary situation they were in, as they walked up to an unknown town.  
  
The wooden gate through the earthen wall was standing wide open in the bright morning sunlight. They had passed several carts loaded with merchandise and farm products during the hike along the road, but the traffic was getting almost congested as they approached the gate.  
  
Observing the activity as they approached, they realized the soldiers and clerks were stopping and investigating the carts, but the foot traffic was traveling through unimpeded. So they proceeded past the gate trying to look like they belonged.  
  
The local industry was located on the outskirts of the town. Leather tanning, wool bleaching and dyeing, blacksmithery, carpentry, laundry and soap production. The smell was quite impressive.  
  
Finally, Lana said, "Isn't someone going to comment on the smell?"  
  
"Not me," said Clark, "I grew up on a farm."  
  
"Not me," responded Lex, "I run a fertilizer plant."  
  
"Okay," smiled Chloe, "I'll say it. Ewww, the smell here is absolutely unbelievable. Almost as bad as the time I had to go undercover in the boy's locker room to get that story."  
  
"Chloe Sullivan, you didn't dress as a boy and go into the boy's locker room!" exclaimed Lana with a mildly shocked look on her face. Although after Chloe's behavior in the past two days, maybe she shouldn't have been. You just don't get to know someone until you've gone on a 'Wall of the Weird' camping trip with them.  
  
"Hey, an investigative reporter has to learn to do what it takes to get the story. And I needed the practice." explained Chloe with nary a blush.  
  
"Okay, guys how about we postpone the story of Chloe's cross-dressing adventures for a later time." Said Lex, "We are approaching the center of town and I think we should focus on getting some breakfast without giving ourselves away."  
  
The others quieted down and started to notice the smells were starting to become more mouth-watering and less offensive.  
  
Soon the large central forum of the town came into view. The north side of the square contained two joined buildings of traditional stone, fronted by giant Doric columns. The left building, three stories tall, was obviously the local government office based on the people queued up in front. The purpose of the right building was less apparent, but would perform some other government function.  
  
The East Side of the square contained the palace of the local magistrate. Built of red sandstone in the local style, it contrasted pleasantly with the white marble of the office complex.  
  
The West Side of the square housed the imperial temple. Its most impressive feature was the eighteen life size statues lining the roof. Some of them were stone, and some were silver and gold, but none of them gave the necessary clue for the group to firmly tie down the current year.  
  
What attracted their attention was along the south side, numerous food stalls doing a brisk business. They wandered along the row, checking out the choices. Eventually they settled on mystery meat kabobs, oranges, apples, and a jug of wine.  
  
Before making their purchases, Chloe said, "I better do the talking, since I guess my Latin is the best. I also think we should have some signals so that the rest of you can do the right thing depending on the situation."  
  
"What did you have in mind?" asked Clark continuing to eye the food with a hungry look.  
  
"Well, I may have to claim that you and Lana are barbarians since you can't speak the language. Anyway just keep an eye on Lex and me. One finger means keep your eyes downcast in a servile manner. Two fingers means give a deep, courteous bow. And three fingers means 'Run like Hell'."  
  
Without giving anyone a chance to argue, Chloe set off for the food stalls. She quickly began haggling with the vendors. 'Just like a day at the Smallville Farmer's Market,' she thought. With ten minutes effort, she had the items they wanted for a total cost of three silver coins and six of copper.  
  
Finding a couple of benches with a good view, they settled back to eat and watch the crowds.  
  
"Now, children," warned Lex, "don't tell your parents I was serving alcohol to minors. I don't believe the 'no drinking till 21' laws go into effect for about, oh, two thousand years."  
  
As the others all smiled, he continued, "But seriously, the wine jug was for show, let's mostly stick to the apples and oranges. I don't want any of us losing our edge. If anyone screws up here, the penalty will be much more than a slap on the wrist."  
  
As they were all nodding, a large group of soldiers marched into the square escorting a pair of sedan chairs carried by six slaves each. These were the first men who were definitely slaves they had seen. Perhaps some of people they had seen in the industrial area were slaves, but none of them had the downtrodden, vacant stares of these broken men. It wasn't until this moment that the seriousness of their situation really hit home. If they weren't careful, they could end up like these men or worse.  
  
While they were watching the slaves and then the man and woman exit the sedan chairs, none of them paid any attention to the group of men on horseback who entered the far end of the plaza.  
  
As they finished up their meal they were trying to prioritize their goals for the day: finding a cobbler for some shoes, finding a place to spend the night, and figuring out how to proceed with inquiries about the Professor without giving themselves away. Suddenly a man striding towards them called out in Latin "Coelia Dionysia Flavius, what a pleasant surprise" interrupting their discussion.  
  
Chloe's expression quickly went from the frown of someone trying to recall a long forgotten memory to the shock of recognition and finally to an incredibly wide, gleeful smile as she surged to her feet.  
  
End of Chapter Three 


	4. Portal Chapter 4

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
  
  
Chapter Four  
  
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek  
  
Now on with the story.]  
  
Grinning, Chloe addressed the approaching man, "L Marcus Petronius Martialis."  
  
Stopping five feet from her, he executed a small elegant bow.  
  
"L Why so formal, Marcus, come here," continued Chloe.  
  
Abruptly they stepped together and shared the warm, tight hug of two long separated friends. As they took a short half step back, while still allowing their fingers to touch, Marcus asked, "L Coelia, what are you doing here in Tolosa? When I left Rome six months ago, you were on your way to your family estate in Egypt."  
  
Ahh, thought Chloe, now I know time and place, that should help a lot. Of course, I still need to figure out how to explain to the others what is going on without freaking them out. However if they can handle being stranded in the Roman Empire in the year 37 AD, then they should be able to handle the rest of it too.  
  
To Marcus she said, "LIt's sort of a long story. Shortly after you left, some business things came up requiring me to visit some of our operations in Gaul." Realizing the others had stood up and were starting to approach, Chloe ran her hand nervously through her hair hoping they would see the one finger she held up to warn them to hang back until she motioned them forward.  
  
"L One thing lead to another, and I ended up visiting our mining interests in Britannia. Speaking of Britannia, I would like to introduce Alexandrum Germanicus Luthorius." Chloe said with a quick glance at Lex and a subtle gesture with two fingers.  
  
Lex was in a complete state of confusion. How did Chloe know this man? Everything they had seen said they were somewhere in the ancient Roman Empire. But if that was the case, how could Chloe know this guy? Something even stranger than he thought was going on, but for the moment he couldn't do anything but follow Chloe's lead. Therefore Lex step forward until he was half a step behind and one step to the right of Chloe and then execute a small bow similar to the one Marcus had given to Chloe.  
  
Continuing the introduction, Chloe said, "L Lex's father served with Drusius Germanicus the Elder during his Rhineland campaigns. After he mustered out of the army he went to work for my family running our mining operations in Britannia. When he died two years ago, Lex took over and since then he has doubled production and increased profits by a factor of five. Therefore after meeting him, I decided to bring him along to look over our mining operations in Hispania. If he can work his magic there, I think I will have to find him an even more challenging assignment."  
  
Turning to Lex, Chloe said, "L Lex, this is Marcus Petronius Martialis, the Governor of Western Gaul and my late husband's brother." While her back was momentarily towards Marcus, she mouthed "Later, play along."  
  
Lex thought, 'This is just getting crazier and crazier.' However he carefully kept a neutral expression on his face as he stepped forward, clasped forearms with the other man, and said, "L It is an honor to meet you, sir."  
  
As they clasped forearms, Lex sized the other man up. About five foot nine and muscular, he was taller than most of the men they had seen, but no where near Clark's six four or even Lex's six one. About twenty-five years old, he seemed young to be a governor, but then life was shorter and faster in Roman times. Plus thought Lex, politics probably played an even bigger part in job selection than it does in the 21st century. Of course, who am I to talk, running a company with hundreds of employees at age 22 and who knows what by 25, assuming we ever get home.  
  
Turning back to Chloe, Marcus commented in Greek, "G So Coelia, is this your latest toy?"  
  
Responding in kind Chloe said, "G No, Marcus, you know I prefer my 'toys' young and with hair. Now, it's not polite to speak in languages the others don't know."  
  
With a smile and a nod Marcus switched back to Latin. "L So Coelia, where is your normal large entourage?" said Marcus, with a quick glance at Clark and Lana.  
  
Without inviting them forward, Chloe introduced the others. "L The others are Clark and Lana, a son and a daughter of a couple of the local chieftains in the area of our mining operations."  
  
"L Hostages?" asked Marcus.  
  
"L Not really. You remember my maid, Juliana?" Marcus nodded his head. "L It was past due time to marry her off. So when she met this captain at a party in Gesoriacum while we were waiting for transportation across the channel, well I knew it was time to find a new maid/traveling companion. Lana seemed like an interesting choice. Spirited and inquisitive, I always enjoy introducing the 'right' barbarian to the wonders and luxuries of the empire. It helps keep things fresh for me too."  
  
"L And Clark, hmmm, I think he will make an excellent bodyguard and is kind of cute, too." she said with a really bright smile on her face.  
  
"L Anyway as far as the rest of my entourage, after leaving Britannia, we have been making our way down the west coast of Gaul. Two days ago bandits attacked our party. We were all that got clear, although I am sure we will be receiving ransom demands for some of the others in the next few days," said Chloe.  
  
"L Sorry about that, Coelia. We have been having a lot of trouble with the Druids during the past couple of months. With the recent resurgence of trouble along the Rhine I am down to a single regiment to cover my entire district. If I spread the troops around in small groups, they just get massacred. If I keep them in a large group, the bandits melt away and strike somewhere else. It is a mess until we identify the ring leaders and their central headquarters."  
  
Chloe looked thoughtful. "L Is that why you are in Tolosa? I thought your capital was in Burdigala."  
  
Marcus nodded. "L Partly, also I am here to meet Senator Servius Aurelian Galba," with a gesture towards the couple who had entered the government building, he continued. "L He arrived yesterday from Rome on a fact finding mission about the bandit problem."  
  
While this conversation was going on Clark and Lana tried to maintain the servile manner Chloe had requested. Both of them were wondering what was going on. It was apparent Chloe knew this guy, but how was that possible? Getting a sense of what was going on from her was hard, as she was all smiles and happiness. Normally, Lex had an effective poker face, but several times during the conversation they had seen a real look of surprise and confusion on his face. If Lex was being shocked and he could follow the conversation, Clark and Lana were starting to go crazy with curiosity. They would have to learn the local language, if they were going to be stuck here much longer.  
  
Meanwhile Chloe was asking, "L I have been out of touch for a while, what's the news from Rome?"  
  
Marcus looked surprised, "L You haven't heard? The news arrived yesterday with the senator and is all over town by now. Emperor Tiberius Caesar Augustus is dead and Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus is the new emperor."  
  
For the first time since the conversation began, Chloe looked momentarily pale. "L Gaius Germanicus?"  
  
Marcus noticed Chloe's response to the news and answered in a tone barely above a whisper. "L I see you've had dealings with him before." As she nodded briefly, he continued in the same tone. "L The average man on the street in Rome is very happy at the news. The men in uniform have been promised five gold coins apiece, so they are pleased. However, many of the senators and others of the upper class are quietly making plans to spend some time at their estates outside of Italy. This would be a good time to stay clear of Rome."  
  
While Chloe nodded once again, Lex was trying to place this emperor Gaius Germanicus. He vaguely remembered the emperor Tiberius from history classes, but Gaius Germanicus didn't ring any bells. Also why had Chloe given him the middle name Germanicus? Was that a good or a bad sign based on the current situation? Lex hoped he would get a chance to talk to Chloe alone soon, before his list of questions got so long he couldn't remember them all.  
  
Marcus had noticed that none of them were wearing shoes. "L Perhaps you better tell me a little more about your recent adventure," he said with a pointed glance at her feet.  
  
Chloe said, "LWe were attacked in the middle of the night. While the guards did their best during the surprise attack, they were quickly overwhelmed. If it wasn't for the quick thinking and action of Lex and Clark," giving him a lingering flick of her eyes, "L we wouldn't have gotten away. As it was, we only had time to grab robes before our departure. Two days of hiking cross-country without shoes has been miserable. We just arrived in town an hour ago and had our first decent meal in a long time. Our next items, after a thanksgiving sacrifice to the God Augustus, are to acquire some shoes and then find a place to spend the night as Tolosa wasn't on our original itinerary."  
  
"L Well, of course, you will stay with me at the local magistrate's palace," Marcus exclaimed with a wave to large red building across the way.  
  
"L Thanks, Marcus. I am really glad we met. The day is finally started to look up." Chloe said with a smile of thanks. "L Now that a place to stay is solved, how are the local baths? I desperately could use a long, relaxing soak."  
  
Marcus laughed, "LSame old Coelia, the baths could best be described as 'adequate'." Pointing to the street between the government building and the temple he continued. "LThree blocks down that street and then one block to the right is where you will find the best baths in town."  
  
"L Thanks, I need to visit the temple and then would like to visit the baths. Could we meet at the palace, say late afternoon, to continue catching up?"  
  
"L Yeah, that works well as I have several meetings to attend to now. I will let the people at the palace know to expect you. Again, it is great to see you," said Marcus as he stepped forward for another quick hug before turning and striding off towards the palace.  
  
Lex, Clark, and Lana all let out a sigh of relief at surviving this encounter with their freedom intact. Even Chloe sagged a little after Marcus walked away. Now she just needed to get through an explanation to the others. For an hour of uninterrupted privacy, a private chapel at the temple should do.  
  
"Chloe," Lex started first, but she quickly interrupted.  
  
"Let's go to the temple where we can have some privacy and I will try to explain."  
  
When the others signaled their agreement, Chloe led the way across the forum towards the temple. After passing several groups of children playing ball, an older group of children being lectured on philosophy and four old men playing a game of dice; they reached the three broad steps leading into the temple. Climbing to the top step Chloe stopped and bowed before entering the temple. Not quite sure what to do, but not wanting to stand out, the other three also stopped and bowed before entering.  
  
Inside they found a main central room with a large statue of the God Augustus.  
  
As Chloe stood looking at the statue, she got the others attention and said, "This is the Roman God, Augustus. Augustus was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. After Caesar was assassinated, Augustus became the first emperor of the Roman Empire, as Caesar had only ever claimed the military title of dictator. Augustus ruled for a mostly peaceful and prosperous forty five years. After his death he was deified by the Roman senate as a god whose only equal was Jove. Many temples throughout the empire were erected or rededicated in his honor. Like many others, the central chamber is dedicated to Augustus while smaller side chambers are dedicated to other members of the Roman pantheon of Gods."  
  
Chloe led them halfway down the central room and then entered the chamber on the left dedicated to Venus. Somehow this seemed appropriate.  
  
After seeing the area was empty, Lex started again, "Okay, Chloe, what is going on? How can you know this guy from what, 2000 years ago? And how could you have been married to his dead brother?"  
  
Since they couldn't follow the previous conversation in Latin, Lana and Clark's mouths both dropped open with this latest revelation. Chloe had been married to some guy two thousand years ago? What?  
  
Hearing the serious tone Lex had used, Chloe felt she needed to lighten the mood and have a little fun with Lex before she began the explanation. Turning to Lex she adopted a blank, vacant expression. Then using a very mechanical, droning voice she said, "I . . Am . . An . . Android . . Sent . . From . . The . . Jacta . . Alea . . Star . . System . . . I . . Have . . Been . . Here . . For . . Five . . Thousand . . Years . . Monitoring . . Mankind's . . Progress . . . When . . I . . Deem . . Mankind . . Is . . Sufficiently . . Mature . . You . . Will . . Be . . Invited . . To . . Join . . The . . Star . . League . ."  
  
The others just stared at her. Clark was immediately thinking, 'I wonder if she knows what world I am from.'  
  
After about twenty seconds, Chloe could no longer maintain the straight face. Suddenly, she started laughing. Laughing so hard she found herself sitting on the floor with tears running out of eyes, barely able to speak. Finally, she got out, "You should have seen the expressions on your faces," before she went into another fit of laughter.  
  
Lana was the first to understand that she was pulling their leg and soon joined in by saying in a similar monotone, "We . . Come . . In . . Peace . . We . . Only . . Want . . To . . Serve . . Man . . . . . . . . For . . Dinner!"  
  
Then Clark and Lex also realized it had all been a joke.  
  
Finally, everyone calmed down. Lex said, "Sorry if I came on too strong before Chloe, but the craziness of the past couple of days was getting to me." Continuing in a quieter tone he said, "I would appreciate if you could help me understand what is going on."  
  
Looking at Lex with just a little twinkle left in her eye, she said, "Since you asked nicely, I will try to explain. I am afraid my story will sound rather outlandish and hard to believe."  
  
"How outlandish can it be to people stranded by a time machine in an ancient Roman town?" asked Lana.  
  
"Okay, you have a point," responded Chloe, "The few other people I have explained this to didn't have your unique perspective to help convince them that my story wasn't a big pile of doo-doo."  
  
So after postponing the inevitable as long as possible, Chloe began her life's story.  
  
End of Chapter Four 


	5. Portal Chapter 5

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
[Author's Note: This story takes place near the end of season one, after Clark invites Chloe to the dance, but before the season finale. At the moment, I find the Clark-Chloe pairing more interesting than Clark-Lana. While I haven't got the entire story finished, it looks to be headed Alternate Universe. Finally, this is my first attempt at a story, so hopefully it is readable and somewhat interesting to others besides me.]  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Chloe began, "I was born 17,316 years ago in a place we could call Atlantis."  
  
"Seventeen thousand years," said Clark as his face went pale.  
  
Chloe reached over and took his hand. "It'll be okay, Clark."  
  
"When I was growing up, civilization was on more or less the same technological level as in our own times. Well, your own times. Maybe this will seem strange, but I have learned it is easiest to live in the moment. So I sort of think of the 21st century as my own times, too."  
  
"Anyway, as I was saying, technology when I was born was similar to the twenty first century in many ways. Hover cars. Video Phones. Indoor plumbing."  
  
Lex jumped in, "If they had all of that technology, surely there would be archaeological evidence."  
  
Clark was just thinking about flying cars and how cool that would be.  
  
"I'll get to that, Lex. One of the areas where they were further ahead was nanotechnology. You know, building things with individual atoms. Anyway two events conspired to destroy the Atlantian civilization and remove most traces of it."  
  
"First, similar to our own times, fossil fuels were one of the main power sources. Like some scientists talk about today, greenhouse gases and global warming were a major issue. What no one understood was that the warming altered the course of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic. This change had the exact opposite effect from what you would expect and tripped the world into a new ice age. And it was not a slow effect taking hundreds or thousands of years. No, the first year snow covered most of the Northern Hemisphere and never went away. In three years significant glaciers were forming everywhere."  
  
"The second thing was a monumental accident or screw up in a nanotech experiment. It started on the far side of the world and the end came very fast, so I don't know all of the details. Apparently, they were working on some 'bots that could break down metals, atom by atom and convert them to heat energy to stop the glaciers. Somehow the experiment got out of control and didn't have the proper safeguards to prevent unrestricted multiplication of the 'bots. Within three days all processed metal products in the world were gone. All structural steel in buildings. All copper in powerlines. All nails in wood buildings. All cars. Everything metallic was destroyed."  
  
"Imagine how quickly all evidence of our civilization would disappear, if the metal was gone. Plus how many people could the world support if the entire infrastructure was gone and you're at the beginning of an ice age? Not billions, only low millions. In the next two months almost everyone died." The last was said at barely a whisper. Even after all of the hundreds of centuries, her memories of those incredibly dark times still had a powerful effect on Chloe.  
  
They all sat for a few minutes waiting for Chloe to continue. Eventually Lex grew impatient and asked, "Chloe, what about you? So far your story explains what happened to the civilization where you were born, but what about you? I am guessing everyone back then didn't live forever."  
  
"No, Lex," said Chloe, "Everyone didn't live forever. Just me."  
  
"Although if the end of that world had come ten years later, it might have been a lot different. Nanotech 'bots had just been introduced in human medicine. Simple specialized 'bots for things like cleaning clogged arteries and mending broken bones. Oh, and virtual reality direct brain interfaces. Gamers were cutting edge back then too. Anyway the 'Holy Grail' of nanotech was a universal adaptive 'bot that could be permanently left in the body to take care of any problems as they came up."  
  
Here Chloe paused for a minute. "My father was the chief scientist at one of the up and coming human research nanotech firms. His company had recently made the breakthrough they had all been striving for when the collapse came. They were about six months into animal trials and my Dad knew they had a probable success on their hands. So when the word of the runaway nanotech problem reached us, my Dad quickly injected me with the experimental 'bots."  
  
"I had turned sixteen three days before and I have been sixteen ever since. One of the benefits or curses of the 'bots."  
  
Lana asked, "So you never get sick?"  
  
"No, and if I get hurt, I heal incredibly fast, like in seconds." said Chloe.  
  
"But Chloe," said Clark, "when you got pushed out of the second story window at Lex's mansion we all saw you bruised and battered in the hospital and the bruises took a number of days to go away."  
  
"The special 'bots they developed had a human brain control interface they adapted from the gaming 'bots, they just hadn't tested it yet during the animal trials. I have the ability to control the recovery once any life threatening damage is repaired. So once I was in the hospital I slowed my recovery to a more normal rate."  
  
Clark asked, "What about your father? We have all met him."  
  
Chloe stared at the statue of Venus at the back of the alcove for a few seconds thinking about how to best to explain. "Sometimes the modern age makes life more challenging for me. Here, in ancient Rome I can be an important member of the upper class at 16 and nobody thinks twice. But back in Smallville, a girl of 16 who is living alone would have all kinds of problems. So I have learned to be more creative and plan further ahead. I mean if I stay in one place more than a few years, people get suspicious.  
  
"As for Gabe, he lets me call him Dad and treats me like his daughter, but he really thinks I am the orphan daughter of his second cousins that he took in when they were killed in a car accident." Chloe saw the expression on their faces. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I didn't kill anyone to set this up. Gabe is an only child and so were his parents. He has no other close relatives. So when the courts contacted him saying if he couldn't take me in, then I was going to have to go to an orphanage, he was glad to help me out since he had no other family left. When we get back home I would appreciate it if you don't tell him about me. When the time is right, I would like to tell him myself." She looked each of them in the eye until they all had nodded.  
  
Trying to be practical, Lex jumped into the conversation. "I have lots more questions about you and your life back in Atlantis and I am sure the others do too, but I think we should talk about our current situation first, in case we get interrupted."  
  
"Okay, Lex, what do you want to talk about?"  
  
"First, I think we need to bring Lana and Clark up to speed on your conversation with Marcus."  
  
Chloe nodded, "Short version, then:"  
  
"We are in the town that will eventually become Toulouse, France. It is located near what will be the border between France and Spain in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains.  
  
"Using the dating conventions of our time this is the year 37 AD. Remember my discussion about the first emperor Augustus? After his death his adopted son, Tiberius, succeeded him. Tiberius was actually the son of his second wife Olivia from her first marriage. It was common practice in Roman society to adopt younger men to be your heir and successor since the high death rate meant you frequently didn't have a living son to inherit from you. Tiberius was made emperor after Augustus and ruled for 23 years. You remember the old saying 'Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'? Well, it was coined for Tiberius and also applied to many of the following emperors. Ultimately, Tiberius moved to the island of Capri off the Italian coast and spent his last few years focused on his outrageous perversions.  
  
"Marcus just got word yesterday that Tiberius has died and has been succeeded by Gaius Germanicus." Chloe continued.  
  
Lex asked, "I don't remember this Gaius Germanicus, but from the way you went pale and Marcus' comments there is something more, isn't there?"  
  
"In modern times, Gaius Germanicus is better known by his nickname, Caligula," said Chloe.  
  
"Oh," said Lex turning a little pale himself.  
  
"What is it?" asked Lana. "I was never that interested in ancient Roman history." From the expression on his face it was apparent that Clark was clueless also.  
  
Lex said, "I don't remember it all perfectly, but Caligula only ruled for a couple of years before being assassinated. However during that time he was by all standards quite insane. He declared himself a living god. He killed off about half of the senators. He made his favorite race horse a senator. He turned the imperial palace into a brothel and made his sisters perform as prostitutes. He also quite publicly practiced incest with them. He lived his life totally without limits. I never understood how he stayed in power as long as he did."  
  
"That's easy," said Chloe. "He made sure the military was paid often and well."  
  
"Why does any of that matter to us?" asked Clark.  
  
"It doesn't immediately." explained Chloe. "It really only becomes important if we end up having to go to Rome."  
  
"Why should we have to go there?" asked Lana.  
  
"We still have no idea where the professor is and remember the old saying 'All Roads Led To Rome'." said Chloe.  
  
"Why didn't you ask Marcus about him?" asked Lex. "And why did you introduce me as a flunky from England?"  
  
"It seemed more urgent to develop a reasonable cover story for you guys then to immediately press him about the professor." Chloe stated. "As to the England cover story, since Clark and Lana don't speak Latin it was necessary to say they are from somewhere outside of the empire. They look northern European, but saying they are German is out as too many Germans are spread around the empire as mercenaries. They would eventually be exposed. Britain works better as we are unlikely to run into any real ones to blow our cover. Julius Caesar invaded Britain about 70 years ago, but was forced to retreat. There won't be another Roman military invasion for about another 5 years until Claudius, Caligula's successor makes an attempt. So other than some trading business, most people in the empire have heard of Britain, but have never meet anyone from there."  
  
Looking over at Lex, Chloe said, "You don't speak Greek, do you?" At this Lex shook his head no. "I didn't think so. All well-bred Romans can read, write, and speak Greek. I tried to come up with a story for you that explained how you speak the same language as Clark and Lana, and still gave you the best upward potential I could. Fortunately, there is no stigma here against hard-working self-made men."  
  
Lex nodded and turned this information over in his head. "What about giving me the middle name, Germanicus?"  
  
"It is common practice to name children after someone important in your life. Drusius Germanicus the Elder was a successful general who served mostly in the Rhine area who happens to be Caligula's grandfather. Caligula's father was also named Drusius Germanicus and was another general who fought often in Germany. Caligula's father died when Caligula was a child. Cladius, who followed Caligula as emperor, was Darius Germanicus' younger brother and Caligula's uncle."  
  
"So Chloe," continued Lex, "how did you fit into all of this?"  
  
"Oh," Chloe responded with a smile. "I fit into this very well, thank you. I was part of one of the primary ruling families from the old Republican days, the Flavians. Okay, I will admit I was the ruling matriarch of the family for over 400 years. Well, since Rome was always a male dominated society, I was more the power behind the throne of the family. You have to realize that by the time of the Roman civilization, I had thousands of years of experience. I had found it was best to be near the top of the civilization rather than at the actual top to enjoy a long tranquil existence. Plus I had achieved the perfect setup for me with major estates scattered all over the empire. After spending six years in Rome, I had recently relocated to our estates in Egypt. After five or six years there I would move on to Spain and then maybe Greece. Eventually I would return to Rome as my daughter and begin the cycle all over again."  
  
"So if it is best to be near the top of civilization, how did you end up a small town girl in Smallville?" asked Lex.  
  
"The difference between the near the top and a slave at the bottom was huge in the 'not-so-good' old days. Now the lifestyle differences between a small town girl and say Lex Luthor are not that great. I mean we both have cars, stereos, phones, hot water, air conditioning, and travel by planes. You may have more material things, but I have all of the things that make modern life pleasant.  
  
"Anyway," concluded Chloe, "I think everyone has enough to think about. It is time to enjoy one of the few things they really knew how to do right, a Roman bath. I know my brain will be functioning better after a nice relaxing soak and massage."  
  
End of Chapter Five 


	6. Portal Chapter 6

The Portal  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
  
  
Chapter Six  
  
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek  
  
Now on with the story.]  
  
They walked out of the temple, momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight. Without large modern glass windows or electric lights, the interior had been darker than they realized.  
  
As they stood on the top step waiting for their eyes to adjust, Clark said, "If we are going to the baths, what about my pack? Is it safe to leave it unattended with all of the gold coins?"  
  
"Hmmm," said Chloe while shading her eyes, "probably not. The best thing to do would be to swing over to the magistrate's palace and drop most of it off in their strong room. Most of the upper class have a lockable storeroom for valuables, wine, and so forth. Plus usually a couple of guards."  
  
While she was talking she had the feeling there was something she had forgotten. Watching the lines getting steadily longer at food vendors, she realized what it was. Looking at the sky she said, "I guess it has been a long time since I have been here. I just remembered that the baths typically don't open until well after lunch. We have a couple of hours to kill, so we might as well look for some shoes and other supplies before heading over to the palace to drop off Clark's backpack."  
  
As they headed down the temple steps to check out some of the side streets Lana asked, "Shouldn't we be careful about speaking English in front of others?"  
  
"Nah," said Chloe, "the Roman Empire is probably one of the few times or places where speaking an unknown language is perfectly safe. The Romans used a lot of mercenaries in their military and were continually moving them round the empire. So long as you have money in your pocket, no one is going to care what language you speak."  
  
On the third street they tried, they found several cobbler shops. They had an assortment of sandals and boots, but none in Clark's size or a good fit for Lex. After chatting with several of the shop owners one of them agreed to make custom boots by the next day.  
  
While the guys were being measured, the girls each picked out several pairs of sandals. Lana held up several different styles, "These are a little more practical than my old high heels, but still I don't want to walk miles in them."  
  
Chloe looked up from the pair she had been trying on. "Hopefully, it won't come to that now. If it turns out the professor isn't in this town, I am sure I can get us some transportation. Have you ever traveled by sedan chair?"  
  
"You mean like the ones that we saw in front of the government building? No, of course not. Chloe, did you own slaves like those guys carrying the chairs?"  
  
Chloe got a pensive look on her face. "Did I own slaves, yes. Did I own slaves like the ones we saw, I tried not to. Slavery was common practice in this time. It would have been impossible to blend in without owning slaves. However it takes a lot of mistreatment and abuse to end up with men like we saw. I would never tolerate that kind of treatment on my estates."  
  
"Is that because of your upbringing in Atlantis?" asked Clark as the shop keeper finished his measurements and started showing him the available types and colors of leather.  
  
"Actually, I am not from the traditional Plato's Atlantis. It just seemed easier to start my story with a place you had heard of. My civilization existed about ten thousand years before Atlantis. The 'real' Atlantis as the last great ice age civilization. When the glaciers melted, most of it ended up underwater."  
  
"To answer your question, my hatred of slave abuse was of a more personal nature. I had some really bad experiences on the receiving end of the equation." While she was saying this, Clark was holding up some black leather for the new boots, but shaking her head she pointed to the red leather.  
  
"You were a slave?" asked Clark with startled look on his face as he tried to imagine a subservient Chloe.  
  
"Unfortunately, more than once."  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" Clark continued with his usual 'jump in with both feet and save the day' tone of voice.  
  
"Not really," said Chloe with a shake of her head. "Perhaps some other time when I am in a more melancholy mood. It is too beautiful today to think about such depressing things."  
  
"Perhaps we should talk about how to find the professor," said Lex, as he took his turn being measured for new boots.  
  
"What's your rush, Lex?" kidded Chloe. "Do you have a hot date? You do realize that with the time machine effect we can return thirty minutes after we left whether we are here for an hour, a day, a week, or a month."  
  
"A month?" exclaimed Lana with an unhappy look on her face and a quiver in her voice.  
  
"I understand how the time travel concept works," said Lex selecting black leather for his own boots.  
  
Chloe interrupted, "Lex, what's the thing with all black anyway? I bet if we could find a black toga you would be happy."  
  
Lex gave her a dirty look. "Don't try to sidetrack me. Getting you all home is my responsibility. The longer we stay here the greater the risk somebody gets hurt or killed. Well, all of us except, apparently, Chloe."  
  
Clark thought, 'and me.'  
  
Lex continued, "Sometimes I think you have been having too much fun since we got here."  
  
For a moment Chloe gave him an incredibly hard stare and for the first time Lex knew in his gut that she was much more than a normal 16 year old girl. Then the moment passed and Chloe said with small shake of her head, "You are probably right. You would think after all of these years I could be more adult and take things seriously, but then my sixteen-year-old hormones kick in. You should try being stuck in a sixteen-year-old body for thousands of years. Perhaps you too would live in the moment."  
  
"As far as plans to find the professor," Chloe said looking thoughtful. "When we get back from the baths I'll talk to Marcus and the local magistrate. If they can't help, you and Clark can check out some of the local taverns tonight. Doubtlessly, the guards we saw out by the entrance to the canyon will hang out at one of them. I am sure with a little of the Luthor charm and some gold coins, you will be able to find some information."  
  
When the others nodded in agreement, Chloe continued, "If we run into any likely candidates, we can start our questioning at the baths. And speaking of the baths, if we head to the magistrate's palace now to drop off Clark's bag, the baths should be open by the time we get there."  
  
Clark walked over to Chloe, crooked his arm like he would if wearing a tuxedo, and said with a small bow, "May I be your escort?"  
  
Chloe grinned and looped her arm through his, "Why certainly, sir." Then she looked at Lex and lifted an eyebrow.  
  
Lex got the message and crooked his arm towards Lana. Together the four of them set off for the magistrate's palace.  
  
As they started walking, Chloe quietly asked Clark; "You've had an hour or two to let it sink in. Are you okay hanging with an older woman? Is my secret going to wreck things between us? I am still the same Chloe and have the same feelings for you now as I did yesterday." As she finished speaking, she watched his eyes to try and read his reaction, although it was difficult as her eyes were tearing up in fear of his reaction.  
  
Clark got this cute frown on his face, as he thought hard about his feelings and what he wanted to say. Sure Chloe's revelation had been a complete shock. 17,000 years was a number beyond comprehension. If she had said 200 or 300 perhaps he could comprehend. Maybe even 2,000 since they were that far from home. But to think that these distant Roman days were only a small fraction of Chloe's life. What all had she experienced in her life? How many men had she loved?  
  
Clark's response to Chloe's question took her totally by surprise. "How did it feel to finally reveal your secret?"  
  
Chloe wondered why that would be Clark's first reaction, but she owed it to him to be honest. "Truthfully, it feels like a two hundred pound stone has been lifted from my shoulders. You don't know how hard it is to have no one to trust 100%. It has been almost five hundred years since I told anyone the complete truth and that's a long time to feel deep down inside, that you are totally alone. So actually, I am glad I was forced to tell you the truth. And I don't mind too much about Lana knowing as she seems trustworthy and it would be fun to have a friend like her for some serious girl-talk. I am a little less comfortable with Lex knowing. Oh, there won't be any problems with him before we get home, but with all his schemes, like this portal device, at some point he is going to want to try and exploit me like a lab rat. But before we reach that point I will find a way to put the appropriate 'fear of Chloe' into him. If you ever have to bet money on Chloe vs. Luthor Corp., I would go with Chloe." The last part was said with an expression that said Chloe ALWAYS won in the end.  
  
Clark made one of the biggest decisions in his life so far. "Chloe, I also have a large secret I would like to share with you. Like yours, my secret is dangerous to know, so perhaps we can find some time alone to talk. Like you, I would prefer to avoid telling Lana and Lex, if possible. The fewer people who know, the fewer who will be in danger." When Chloe gave him a sharp look, he continued, "My parents know my secret. Like you say, it really helps to have someone you can confide in. But remember when my dad was put in jail and charged with murder?" Chloe nodded. "It was part of a blackmail attempt to get at me. Fortunately, that time my family came out okay. But the more that know, the more that are at risk."  
  
Chloe wondered what in hell Clark's secret could be. "Clark, you sure know how to pique a girl's interest. This conversation didn't turn out at all the way I expected. I was certain you would be all freaked out and maybe even afraid of me. I will certainly keep my eyes open for an opportunity to talk."  
  
They had almost reached the palace, but Clark stopped and gave Chloe a quick hug and a kiss. Even though he hadn't revealed his secret yet, just the commitment to tell her already had him in a lighter, happier mood than he had felt in a long time.  
  
Lex and Lana, who had been trailing along several yards behind the others, wondered what had brought on this sudden reaction.  
  
End of Chapter Six 


	7. Portal Chapter 7

The Portal  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek  
  
Now on with the story.]  
  
After depositing Clark's pack in the strongroom, they ran into Marcus on their way back to the front entrance of the palace. Marcus was walking down the hall chatting with a stoutly built man in his late thirties. When Marcus saw them, he said, "LHi, Coelia. I thought you were headed to the baths?"  
  
Chloe smiled, "LThat's our next stop. I had some things we needed to drop at your strongroom, first."  
  
Marcus turned to the man with him, "L Coelia Dionysia Flavius, this is Henricus Gallienus Caracalla, the magistrate of the Tolosa district."  
  
Caracalla stepped forward and bowed. "LIt is an honor to meet you, Coelia Dionysia Flavius." Chloe respond with a polite nod of her head.  
  
Caracalla turned back to Marcus, "LIf you will excuse me, I will attend to the matters we discussed." He then turned and headed out into the central courtyard of the palace.  
  
Marcus watched Caracalla walk away and then turned back to Chloe. "LWell, my meetings went faster than I expected and I am finished up for now. How about if Marina and I join you at the baths?"  
  
"L Marina is here with you? It would be wonderful to see her. Please do join us."  
  
Marcus smiled. "LLet me go find her. I'll be right back."  
  
As he headed off, Chloe turned and explained, "Marcus' wife, Marina, is in town and they are going to join us at the baths. Marina and I were good friends back in Rome. While we are at the baths, I will get their help in trying to locate the professor. Who knows, if we are lucky we will locate him today and be on our way home soon."  
  
They spent a few minutes enjoying the tranquillity of the central courtyard with its fountain and shade trees. One of the servants had just brought them a plate of cakes when Marcus returned with his wife. Chloe ran up to her. "LMarina, it is so good to see you." As she gave her a hug, she realized what the robe was hiding. Stepping back Chloe exclaimed, "LCongratulations. Marcus, you should have told me. Marina how far along are you?"  
  
Marcus grinned a very happy grin; "LShe would have killed me if I had said anything before she was here."  
  
Marina ran her hand up Marcus' arm. "L Coelia, it is great to see you. When Marcus said you were here, it was such a pleasant surprise." Running her hand over her belly, "LFive months. We have so much to talk about. Come, walk with me." With that Marina turned and headed for the front door with Chloe in tow.  
  
Since the girls had things to talk about, Marcus stepped up beside Lex leaving Clark and Lana to bring up the rear. As they proceeded out the front entrance of the palace, six bodyguards and two personal slaves of the governor formed up around the party.  
  
Crossing the forum, Clark asked Lana, "How are you holding up?"  
  
"Ummm," responded Lana, "it's nice to finally have some comfortable shoes after what feels like two thousand years."  
  
Clark smiled for a moment. "Seriously, are you okay?"  
  
Lana hesitated for a minute. "I don't know. Slowly freaking out, I guess."  
  
Clark turned and looked carefully at her. She did seem to have a little of that 'deer in the headlights' stare about her. "Is it finding out about Chloe?"  
  
"A little, but I don't think that has really sunk in yet." Lana answered looking ahead at Chloe and Lex. "It is more the shock of being here and feeling so helpless and dependent on others. Look at Chloe, she fits right in. Okay, she has been here before so she should. And Lex, he knows one useless dead language, Latin. So where do we end up? The one place where everyone speaks Latin. Plus with his thriving on adversity, he will make out okay here."  
  
"Hey," said Clark, "what about me? I don't speak the language like Chloe or Lex. And I have never been here before. If I can cope, so can you."  
  
"I don't know, Clark. I don't have that unstoppable Clark Kent inner strength. I am very afraid we will all end up separated. This is a very scary place to be lost and alone."  
  
Clark understood how serious she was and took her hand. "I will do everything I can to look out for you." Giving her hand a gently squeeze. "Trust me."  
  
By this point the baths were in sight. It was a large, two block wide structure spanning the street ahead. On one side it had a stone water tower with a pipe leading to a nearby aqueduct. Even on a hot day like today, great quantities of smoke could be seen billowing from several chimneys where the furnaces heated water for the hot bath in the caldarium and for the moist and dry saunas.  
  
Clark thought it was time to try and cheer Lana up or at least distract her from her thoughts. "Let's talk to Chloe about starting some Latin lessons for us. It will be fun." He glanced at her to catch her eye and then grinned. "And speaking of fun, do you think the baths are coed or separate? We know Lex and Chloe aren't shy, but what about us? Are you ready to have someone rub fragrant oils all over your body?"  
  
Lana thought about Clark's strong hands rubbing oil all over her body. Why, in all the years we have been neighbors didn't I ever noticed him? Only in the past few months, when the strange meteor rock events kept throwing us together, have I gotten to know him. And maybe care for him more than I will even admit to myself. But Clark and Chloe are together now and somehow that seems right. Even if Chloe is 17,000 years old, there is something different about Clark that still makes it okay. I need to get out of this dark fugue state. Perhaps I need to talk to Chloe; she must have gone through many dark times before. I know her 21st century solution would be 'chocolate'. Hmmm, I wonder if they have chocolate in the Roman Empire?  
  
Smiling a little at the thought of them all sitting around in their togas eating Marble Slab double chocolate ice cream, Lana decided to try and act a little more cheery and perhaps the mood would become real.  
  
"As Chloe would say, when in Rome. I have never had someone rub oil all over my body, maybe it would be fun." She cocked her head, batted her eyes seductively, and looked at Clark. "Are you volunteering?"  
  
Clark's Adam's apple bobbed up and down a couple of times. If only she had asked me that a week ago, he thought.  
  
Lana watched the emotions roll across Clark face and grinned. "It's okay, Clark, I remember your show from the pond yesterday and know its Chloe's naked body you want to rub oil on. Just be sure to mix in a little Pond's anti-wrinkle cream. After 17,000 years those wrinkles are going to show up any day now."  
  
Clark allowed himself a moment to daydream about Chloe lying naked on a concrete bench while he massaged oil into her shoulders, back, and butt.  
  
Whoa, Clark, he thought. Get your mind back on the task at hand of cheering Lana up. As he was working on a snappy repartee, the party reached the bath. Chloe turned back and motioned Lana forward.  
  
"Lana, come and joined Marina and me. This is where we separate the boys from the girls," called Chloe.  
  
With obvious relief in her voice, Lana replied, "You mean the baths are not coed?" with a quick glance at Clark who shrugged.  
  
Catching the eye contact Chloe shook her head. "What have you two been talking about? Of course, in a public establishment like this the men and women bath separately. Oh, there are some common places like the exercise area, the gardens, the library, and the hall used for live performances, you know plays and singers and the like. But the actual bathing areas are separate. Anyway, come along Lana, we'll rejoin the guys in the exercise area after we change."  
  
With that the girls and the female slave that had walked over from the palace with them headed through the passage to the left. Clark walked over and joined Lex and Marcus who were headed through the passage to the right.  
  
As Clark caught up with him, Lex turned and said; "Marcus has been telling me about the version of handball they play at these baths. It is called 'expulsim ludere' and sounds similar to single-wall handball back home except the ball is about twice the diameter as I am used to. Marcus asked if we were interested in a game of doubles. How about it Clark?"  
  
Clark grinned, "Sure, it sounds like fun. I have played a few times at the Y with Pete. How about you, Lex?"  
  
"I played on the college handball team my first year before I discovered fencing. I may be a little rusty, but it seems safer to try handball with these guys than swordplay."  
  
The room the men entered was the unctuarium. Upon entering Marcus paid the attendant three copper coins to cover their entrance fee and received three wicker baskets to stow their gear. After stripping off his clothes, Marcus took a quick dip in the small pool to rinse of the sweat and grime as the first step in an afternoon at the baths. Not wanting to look like this was their first time at a Roman bath; Lex and Clark quickly followed suit.  
  
The water was cool and had a noticeable current. As Clark swam lazily around he realized it had relatively large inlets and outlets to keep the water clean.  
  
They had been in the water hardly five minutes when Marcus climbed out and dried himself with a towel handed to him by the slave he had brought along. He proceeded to wrap his loins in a small white triangle of material, which he picked up from the bath attendant that would barely qualify as a G- string back in the 21st century.  
  
His slave then held out towels for Lex and Clark before walking back over to Marcus. As Lex and Clark started to dry themselves off, the slave began rubbing oil into Marcus' shoulders and upper back. The boys were figuring out how to put on their own small triangles of cloth when Marcus called them over.  
  
"L Let Doigenes here oil you up before we hit the handball court. He is one of the best finds I have made since coming to Gaul. Of course, he is Greek as they make the best personal attendants."  
  
Lex thanked him and then translated for Clark. As Lex stretched out on the bench for his turn, Marcus said, "LI'll meet you out by the courts. They're through that door, you can't miss them. I am going to see who is here that would like to be a fourth." With a wave he headed out the passageway to the exercise area.  
  
While Lex was enjoying the rub down Clark said, "So we are going out into the common area wearing just these little thongs."  
  
"I didn't see you complaining yesterday when Chloe was swimming around naked with you." retorted Lex. "Time to grow up Clark. In this time you were considered to be an adult at 14, not at 18 or 21 like back home."  
  
"Well, trying to behave more like an adult, I have to say I am a little worried about Lana. We had a chance to chat on the walk over and all of the shocks in the past two days are starting to get to her. I think the worst of it for her is feeling trapped in a barbaric society with no ability to communicate."  
  
As Clark and Lex exchanged places, Lex said, "Any suggestions on what we should do?"  
  
"Not really, I just think we need to keep an eye on her and try not to let her become too depressed."  
  
"How about you, Clark? You don't speak Latin either. Are you holding up okay?"  
  
"Yeah, but then Chloe and I seem to be making a real connection on this trip."  
  
"What about the whole 'living forever' thing with her? I thought my jaw was going to hit the ground when she called out Marcus' name and ran and gave him a hug," commented Lex.  
  
"At least you understood the conversation and had some idea what was happening. Lana and I were standing there with no idea and the conversation just went on and on." Said Clark. After pausing for a minute, he continued, "What did you think of Chloe's nanotech story. Are we close to the kind of 'bots she was talking about?"  
  
"I haven't pursued nanotech research much," said Lex with a thoughtful expression. "I would guess about 40 years. Although with some sample 'bots it may be possible to shave a number of years off that."  
  
Remembering his conversation with Chloe, Clark answered, "If you are talking about samples from Chloe, I think if you ask very nicely she will offer her help. However, I get the strong impression she doesn't like people trying to take advantage of her. With 17,000 years of watching her back, I think you always want to make sure she stays a friend."  
  
Lex was surprised. Was that Clark's idea of advice, a warning or a threat? Something was definitely going on between Clark and Chloe that went beyond just new boyfriend and girlfriend. I need to tread lightly in this area.  
  
While he was still pondering this, Clark jumped up from the bench saying, "I need to burn off some excess energy. Let's go see if we can kick some Roman butt."  
  
Glistening with oil like two bodybuilders during a competition, Lex and Clark headed for the exercise area.  
  
The exercise area was large and open with a high ceiling. Just below the roof were two long rows of windows. The windows had shutters for inclement weather, but today they were wide open to let in the plenty of fresh air.  
  
The exercise area wasn't that much different from a modern health club. On one side a group of twenty or thirty women were performing a coordinated dance routine, not unlike a modern jazzercize class. Of course, they were performing to a small three-piece band rather than a boombox.  
  
Another area had a mix of men and women working out with free weights. No modern weight machines, but still a lot of buff and toned guys and girls.  
  
Along a third wall were the handball courts. Three courts, all in use. Two courts were being used for doubles while the remaining court was being used for a game of singles. All of the courts had benches for spectators, but only the singles game had drawn a crowd. About fifteen men were sprawled out on the benches, laughing, having a good time, and obviously betting on the outcome.  
  
Another area was covered with thick mats and a group of men were practicing a martial arts form that looked like a cross between judo and wrestling.  
  
The exercise area was L-shaped. Clark and Lex wandered down around the corner into the other leg of the 'L'. Along the left wall were three more game courts, although neither Clark nor Lex recognized this game. Each court consisted of two concentric circles. The inner circle was about six feet in diameter and the outer about twenty feet in diameter. Five to seven players were arrayed around the outside of the outer circle. After watching for a couple of minutes it became apparent that points were scored by bouncing the volleyball-sized ball in the inner circle and then out of the outer circle without anyone catching it. Whoever caught the ball got the next turn. From listening to the scorekeeping for a while Lex determined that you lost a point, if your initial bounce missed the inner circle. Also if it bounced a second time before getting out of the outer circle, you got zero points. It was a fast paced game, particularly with fewer players. One game was being played by a group of young men and looked quite intense. The other two games were being played by a mixed group of men and women and were more social in nature, lots of laughing and joking was going on.  
  
Along the other main wall were a group of women tossing various sized medicine balls around. Like the other women scattered through out the exercise area, most of these women were dressed similar to Lex and Clark, small triangular bottoms that left most of their butts exposed plus small gauzy bandanna tops that similarly left most of their breasts exposed. Even some of the women from Baywatch would have been nervous being seen in public in attire like this. Clark looked forward to seeing Chloe and Lana dressed like this and no longer felt quite as embarrassed in his own skimpy attire.  
  
Finally, along the far wall was a snack bar with a number of low couches and tables with people eating a variety of fruits and drinking an assortment of fruit juices and ale. All in all, several hundred people were in the exercise area this afternoon.  
  
After scoping out the various activities and the cute girls, Clark and Lex drifted back towards the handball courts noticing the decor as they went. Most of the walls were covered with large frescoes honoring the sporting activities of the baths. Girls using hand-weights. Young men wrestling. Women playing catch with a ball. And the like. The main difference about the frescoes was the outdoor pastoral setting.  
  
By the time they had inspected all of the frescoes, they had reached the handball courts. They settled on a pair of benches to learn the nuances of the game. It was very similar to the modern version except the ball was twice as large about midway between a baseball and softball. Also it had less bounce. Most of the men playing were wearing open fingered gloves with padded palms to protect their hands.  
  
Lex asked one of the players just finishing a doubles match about the gloves. He pointed to the attendant just beyond the courts and explained that he had spare gloves and balls and also scheduled the court times. Lex and Clark walked over to the attendant and sorted through the box of gloves. The largest pair barely fit Lex, so Clark said his hands were pretty well callused from the farm and he could go without.  
  
The guys selected a ball and found an unused section of wall to warm up. They had been practicing for about ten minutes and were getting the feel for the bounce of this ball when Marcus walked up with another younger man.  
  
"LAhh, Lex, I see your getting ready. Good. This is Julianus Caracalla, the magistrate's son, and the current city handball champ."  
  
"LSo Marcus, you felt you need to bring in a ringer just to beat a couple of hicks from Britannia?" said Lex with a grin.  
  
"LNo, Lex" said Marcus with a shake of his head. "LThis is just going to be a nice friendly game. Besides, if I was going to set you up, I wouldn't have told you about Julianus. Now if you are ready, I am going to pull rank and cut to the top of the waiting list and grab the next available court."  
  
The four of them walked over to the courts. The remaining doubles game which had been playing when Lex and Clark first entered the exercise area was nearing the end. A pair of men in their mid-30s was playing a pair of teenage boys who turned out to be their sons. The older men were leading 19-15 and needed only two more points to win. It was quickly over as the boys played overly aggressively trying to make up for their fathers' lead. They had yet to learn that the best strategy when you are behind in handball is to play conservatively and try not to make any errors.  
  
After a few minutes of warming up, the men began a game. The Romans jumped out to an early lead based on long experience with the game. But eventually Lex and Clark started scoring a few points. At one point Clark made a long diving save to bring the score to 12-7. Right then a loud female voice shouted, "Way to go, Smallville!"  
  
The players looked back and saw Chloe, Lana, and Marina sitting in the front row clapping and whistling. Clark and Lex hadn't been that close to Marina back at the palace, but now her pregnancy was obvious in her very immodest attire.  
  
And speaking of immodest attire thought Clark. Wow, Chloe and Lana were both hot. Even though Chloe had rubbed her naked body against him yesterday, it was still exciting to see her in a skimpy outfit she would never have been caught dead in, back in Smallville.  
  
The game paused briefly as the guys walked over to say hello.  
  
Chloe asked, "How is it going?"  
  
Clark said, "I think the hardest part is playing with bare feet."  
  
"Definitely," agreed Lex. "I have already stubbed my toes several times. The game would be a lot more even if we had our tennis shoes."  
  
"So what is the score?" asked Lana.  
  
"They are leading 12-7 and the game is to 21." said Lex.  
  
"Can you win?" asked Chloe.  
  
Clark glanced at Lex. "What's in it for us, if we do?"  
  
"Hmmm," said Chloe. She leaned over to Lana and whispered in her ear. Lana smiled and nodded, before Chloe continued. "How about a massage from us, if you win? You both look very hot, all oiled up in those little thongs. We would both enjoy rubbing our hands over your bodies, but you are going to have to earn it."  
  
"You better warn Marcus and Julianus that they are about to have their butts kicked," said Clark as he turned and walked back onto the court. Focus, Clark thought to himself, nothing that looks more than, oh, 120% of normal human ability. But we definitely want to win.  
  
Lex just shook his head and walked out on to the court. Julianus was definitely out of his league and Marcus was no slouch. The score wouldn't even be this close, if Marcus hadn't let a couple of easy ones go. Now all of a sudden Clark is all charged up and motivated to win. Well, I will have to give it the old Luthor try and hope for the best.  
  
As play resumed, the whole tenor of the game had changed. The Romans understood the wager had cranked up the other's motivation. But as hometown favorites, it was a matter of honor that they couldn't let a pair of barbarians win.  
  
Within the first couple of points it was apparent that Clark had raised his game to a whole different level. Whereas previously his eight inch reach advantage over the Romans had been his best weapon, suddenly he seemed to hustle twice as fast as before. No matter where the Romans hit the ball, Clark seemed to be waiting there with a kill shot all lined up.  
  
Almost before they knew what hit them, the score was tied 16-all. The Romans tried to play a conservative, error-free game assuming Clark's luck couldn't hold. But Clark's luck did hold until on the final point he managed an 8-foot overhead smash in combination with a 16-foot diving cross- court return that was so hard and fast, the ball almost seemed to blur. 'Good thing that was the last point' thought Clark. 'Anymore shots like that and people would begin to wonder.' In the end, Clark and Lex won the game 21-18.  
  
Chloe and Lana were whooping and screaming. They ran out onto the court and threw their arms around Clark and gave him a simultaneous hug. Somehow they both ended up with one of their hands on Clark's naked, oily butt. It only seemed fair that Clark lowered his hands to their naked butts, too.  
  
"Hey," said Lex, "I was part of the winning team, too."  
  
After a few more seconds with Clark and a quick kiss from each, the girls turned gave Lex a hug running their hands over his butt as well. Wow, thought Lex, once again I should have remembered to never underestimate Clark when he sets his mind to some goal. Perhaps we should have made the stakes in the wager even a little higher.  
  
Clark said, "I have worked up a thirst. Let's go down to the snack bar and see if we can find something interesting to drink."  
  
After shaking hands with Marcus and Julianus, Clark asked Chloe to invite the others down to snack bar for a drink on him. After Chloe had past along the message, Clark put his arm around her and headed for the other end of the exercise area.  
  
As they walked, Chloe asked, "So was that remarkable turn around in the game a sample of your 'secret'?"  
  
Clark spoke in a low tone, "Only a very small sample."  
  
Chloe stopped, pulled Clark's head down, and appeared to nibble on his ear. "How small a sample, Clark." She whispered.  
  
Clark whispered back. "At top speed, I can move so fast I am virtually invisible."  
  
Chloe pulled back and exclaimed in a much louder voice, "What?" Thinking she had misunderstood.  
  
"You heard me," said Clark still speaking in a quiet tone. "And even that is only a small part of my secret."  
  
Seeing that Lex and Lana had almost caught up with them, Chloe said, "We have to find some time to talk. Finding out about it in little dribbles is driving me crazy."  
  
"Now you have some feeling what Lana and I were going through when you had your first conversation with Marcus and we had no idea what was going on."  
  
As they started walking, Chloe was wondering about Clark's secret. It was starting to sound like a doozy. What exactly did moving so fast he was almost invisible mean? There had been a lot of times when during some meteor freak event, Clark did seem able to disappear in the time you could turn your head. Let's see, what other weird things had happened around Clark that could be attributed to his 'secret'?  
  
Chloe was still thinking of past incidents when they reached the snack bar. While the others picked out a table, she grabbed Lana to help her pick up drinks.  
  
"So," asked Lana, "What are the drink choices?"  
  
"If they have all the ingredients, I think we are going to have the Chloe Special," answered Chloe.  
  
Lana arched her eyebrows, "Something I should add to the menu at the Talon?"  
  
"Sure, if you find it interesting, but it is not remotely in the coffee category." said Chloe as she turned and started talking to the man working behind the counter.  
  
Since Julianus had wanted to go hang with his friends, the barkeeper pulled out six glasses. He filled them half full with crushed ice then added a tablespoon of honey to each glass. While the honey was slowly coating the ice he took an empty pitcher and filled it half way with lemonade. Then he filled it the rest of the way with orange juice. After mixing, he topped each glass of honeyed ice with the mix to complete Chloe's concoction. Chloe passed three of the glasses to Lana and said, "Voilà, a bumble-bee with sting ala Chloe."  
  
"Looks intriguing, but how do they have ice without refrigerators?" asked Lana.  
  
"They cart it down from the mountains in the winter and store it in special straw insulated underground rooms for use in the summer. A long time go the Egyptians had a technique for making thin sheets of ice at the bottom of deep trenches out in the desert in the middle of summer when the nighttime temperature never fell below forty-five degrees. I remember reading a science article about it a few years ago explaining the physics of it, but at the time it really did seem like magic." Chloe explained. It was kind of fun to have people she could share her memories with, without appearing to be crazy.  
  
Everyone tried Chloe's special drink with varying degrees of appreciation. Lex sort of summed up the majority opinion, "I don't think it will replace Gatorade, but it does fill that post-game sugar rush need."  
  
With everyone comfortably relaxing after the match, Chloe looked over at Marcus and asked, "L When we were walking into town this morning, we came past this walled-off canyon with a group of guards standing at the entrance. None of us could guess what that was all about. Do you know?"  
  
Lana and Clark didn't know what Chloe had asked, but they could see Lex tense up slightly and start paying more attention to Marcus' face. Lex and Chloe had been conversing intermittently with Marcus and Marina in Latin ever since they left the palace, but this was the first time they had seen this reaction in Lex. It was still difficult to adjust to some of the role reversals. Lex had always been the calm, unruffleable one while Chloe had been the excitable, easy to read one. But ever since they had realized they were lost in ancient Roman times, Chloe had become the calm, in-charge leader of the group. It was more than just her experience with having lived through these times before. A large part of it was her newfound freedom to tell her friends a few of her secrets.  
  
"L Ahh," said Marcus, "L you have only been here a few hours and already you stumbled on the big 'Mystery of Tolosa'."  
  
"LThe 'Mystery of Tolosa'?" asked Chloe. "L I don't remember hearing about any big mystery."  
  
"L A big mystery by local standards, but not big enough to be noticed back at Rome. I never heard of it until I got here either," answered Marcus. "L It all began about 50 years ago, so only a few old timers have any memory of the events. It started with strange lights and noises coming from far up that canyon at night. The local magistrate sent a detachment of guards to investigate, but only one man returned. And he was half crazed with a wild story about demons with bright lights coming out of their heads. The magistrate sent several larger detachments of guards, but none of these returned. Eventually, he just started to guard the entrance to the canyon and after several months the noises and lights stopped."  
  
Lex looked at Chloe and said in English, "That sounds like the crew that constructed the Professor's complex, but it doesn't help us find him now."  
  
Chloe nodded and asked Marcus, "LAny more recent weird things associated with that canyon?" Weird things thought Chloe. It sounds like we are back in Smallville.  
  
"LNothing for about thirty years. The original magistrate was reassigned back to Rome about a year after all of the excitement. Since there had been no activity from that canyon for many months, the new magistrate sent a troop of guards up the canyon to investigate. They found nothing unusual anywhere in the canyon. When they returned, the magistrate discontinued the guard. Slowly the events in the canyon receded from memory except for stories told late at night in the taverns."  
  
"L Nothing more happened until about 20 years ago. One day this stranger showed up in town. His name was Antonius Octavius Carius." At this Chloe gave an obvious look of recognition. "LAhh, I see you recognize the name."  
  
Chloe nodded, "LNot just recognize the name, I met him several times at parties thrown by Augustus Tiberius."  
  
"LOf course, you do mingle in the highest circles," continued Marcus. "LThese events all occurred before he became the emperor's official soothsayer, but did lead to his coming to the attention of Rome. When Carius showed up in Tolosa he said that he was on a pilgrimage resulting from a visit to the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle told him to go to western Gaul and find a place with legends involving demons and strange lights. When he found such a place, he would be given a vision where to build a temple which would lead to great rewards for him."  
  
"L He had spent several months wandering western Gaul when he heard the story of 'The Mystery of Tolosa'. On his arrival he told his story and people pointed him towards the canyon. After spending a nighttime vigil in the canyon he returned to town saying he had had a vision of where to build the temple. Now, it turned out he was a wealthy merchant in Antioch before his visit to the Oracle. So he had money and hired a crew to build his temple way up the canyon."  
  
"LAfter the temple was built, Carius started to get more visions. Visions involving local people. Visions that came true. He spent about two years in Tolosa while word of his abilities spread. One day he said he had a vision he was to go to Rome and left." concluded Marcus.  
  
"LSo he left for Rome about 18 years ago," said Chloe thinking hard. L"Has he ever been back?"  
  
"LApparently, he comes back every few years to visit the temple. He even has a villa in town for use when he is here. On one of his visits about ten years ago, after he became Tiberius' soothsayer, he had the wall built across the entrance to the canyon and installed the guards to keep everyone out." said Marcus.  
  
"LHas he been in town recently?" asked Lex.  
  
"LI think it has been about a year since the last time. Why so much interest in Carius?"  
  
"LNo special interest in him. We were merely enjoying your story," said Chloe a little too quickly.  
  
Marcus was sure they had some special interest in Carius from the intensity of their questions. But if Coelia didn't want to explain, he would let it slide until she was ready. Marcus said, "LCoelia, let's continue this over dinner. Several of the leading citizens have been trying to catch my eye for the past few minutes and I really should go mingle for awhile." Extending his hand to his wife, "LCome along Marina, I see Constantius Mallius and his wife."  
  
As she stood, Marina leaned over and spoke into Chloe's ear. "LI'll find you in about an hour to go have a soak and a chat. In the meantime, there are some private massage rooms between the entrances to the men's and women's baths." She grinned towards Clark as she stood. Then taking Marcus' arm they walked off.  
  
End of Chapter Seven 


	8. Portal Chapter 8

The Portal  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek  
  
Now on with the story.]  
  
Watching the Governor and his wife walk away, Lex asked, "This Carius is the Professor, right?"  
  
"Yeah," said Chloe as she drained her glass and stood up. "Come on. Lana and I owe a couple of guys a massage. We can talk as we go."  
  
Clark and Lex grinned at this and Lana gave a small smile. They all quickly finished their drinks and stood up.  
  
"Two thousand years is a long time. I only met Carius a couple of times, briefly, at parties where my attention was focused on other things. Plus he looked a lot different in a robe than in a lab coat. But now that Marcus has reminded me, I am certain Carius and the Professor are one and the same." said Chloe.  
  
As they walked, Lex and Chloe brought Clark and Lana up to speed on their conversation with Marcus. When they had finished, Clark asked, "If Marcus doesn't think the Professor has been here in a year, how do we proceed?"  
  
Chloe answered, "Look's like we are going to have to do some detective work. I can think of two places to start. First, we can check out his villa. Second, if you guys are up for it, you could check out some taverns tonight and try to get some info from his guards."  
  
"Why do you think the Professor chose to set up his portal here when his power-base is in Rome?" asked Lana. "It must be hundreds of miles from here to Rome and would take months of travel time. It seems pretty risky to be that far away in an emergency."  
  
Chloe was playing with the waistband of Clark's loincloth as she said, "I don't yet understand why he picked this location, but the travel time is not that bad. Travel times are a lot quicker than you would think. Particularly, if you are traveling under an imperial seal. They had relay stations set up every twenty miles or so for changing horses. Very much like the old Pony Express, except the Romans could handle parties of up to twenty riders instead of the single mail carrier in the Pony Express system."  
  
"Under emergency conditions, you could cover 200 miles a day. Pushing hard, you could make it from Tolosa to Rome in about four days. Alternately, at the right time of year and under good weather conditions you could get from here to Narbo on the Mediterranean Coast in about four hours and then take a ship to Rome. With luck, you could be in Rome in three days."  
  
As Chloe finished speaking they arrived at the attendant who handled the private massage rooms. With a couple of minutes of bargaining, Chloe arranged a room with two massage tables and the appropriate supplies.  
  
As Clark and Lex stretched out on their stomachs on the two tables, Chloe performed a low bow and said, "Which of you honorable sirs will go first?"  
  
Lex glanced at Clark and then said, "I think me. I know Clark is the one you really want to get your hands on so this way you get to continue building your anticipation and I don't end up being the anti-climax."  
  
Chloe and Lana poured a liberal quantity of oil onto Lex's back and began to rub it into his shoulders and upper back. Lana looked down at Lex who had his face turned towards her and asked, "Lex, can I run my fingers over your head, too? I have always been curious what it would feel like."  
  
Lex could see Lana's face from the corner of his eye and wondered if she was serious or just teasing. "If you like, but be careful with the earlobes. Just like a Ferengi, they are one of my erogenous zones."  
  
Lana gave him a blank stare. "You know, Ferengi, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek . . . Oh, never mind, before your time." Geez, I keep forgetting how young they are. Remember, Lex. Two words. Jail bait.  
  
Clark jumped in to the awkward pause. "So Chloe, were you ever someone famous in history that we might have heard of?"  
  
"I don't know, Clark. How many famous sixteen year old girls do you remember from history class?"  
  
"Hmmm, Joan of Arc?" asked Clark.  
  
"Let's see, had visions from God, lead armies into battle, burned at the stake. Nope, I don't remember ever being stupid enough to cause myself that kind of grieve. Well, at least not in the past five thousand years or so. Try again." answered Chloe trying to keep a serious expression on her face.  
  
"Lady Godiva," suggested Lana.  
  
Chloe lifted an eyebrow. "So I go skinny-dipping one time and now I am Lady Godiva?" Lana started to blush.  
  
Wow, thought Chloe, these 21st century kids sure lead sheltered lives. I wonder what her response would be if I offered to give her a full body massage?  
  
"No, Lana, I wasn't Lady Godiva, but an interesting guess."  
  
By now the girls had moved from Lex's back down to his legs. Each of them started rubbing oil in to one of Lex's calves and was slowly working their way back up.  
  
"Mary Queen of Scots?" guessed Clark.  
  
"No. I think I already mentioned I prefer to be the power behind the throne, not the one in charge. Too many people trying to assassinate you. Or overthrow you. How about you, Lex. Any guesses?"  
  
"Ummm," said Lex in a pretty relaxed tone. He was really starting to enjoy his massage. "Power been the throne? Maybe Cardinal Richileau?"  
  
That comment earned him a very sharp slap on one of his mostly bare cheeks.  
  
"Hey!" exclaimed Lex, as he started to raise his upper body.  
  
Chloe pressed him back down against the table. "Sorry about that. I wasn't the Cardinal, but I do have some bad memories of him." She started to rub both hands across the red handprint she had left on his white butt. "Here, let Chloe rub it and make everything better." She motioned to Lana who started to work on his other cheek.  
  
"Okay, I have been a famous person a couple of times in the past, but you haven't even got warm yet. So I will let you think about it and we can continue this game another time. I did have a few famous husbands, as well. Mostly scientist types who I gave a little push in the right direction from time to time. One of the more important ones in the development of modern civilization was John Crapper, the developer of modern indoor plumbing. From the fall of the Roman Empire to the mid-1800s was a long, long period of poor plumbing. Finally, enough technology came together that modern plumbing became practical. I am sure someone else would have come up with it in another ten or twenty years, but I got tired of waiting. So every time you hear the word 'crap' you can thank me and my husband, John."  
  
Everyone was laughing. Lex was wondering when Chloe would get past the light, humorous stories. Certainly in 17,000 years there must have been a lot of dark times, too.  
  
Clark was thinking about Chloe being married. She had mentioned back at the temple having been married to Marcus' brother. But so many revelations had been coming so fast; it hadn't really sunk in. What was it, just over six hours ago, that Clark thought he was her first serious boy friend. And now, how many times had she been married? How many men had she known? At least for the moment some of the fun of this adventure had gone out of it for him.  
  
Chloe could sense the sudden change in Clark's mood. She looked over at Lana and said, "Come on, time to switch to Clark for a while."  
  
Lana could also sense Clark's change in mood. She looked from Chloe to Clark and finally to Lex. "Hey, Lex, I think the lovebirds need some time alone. How about we go back to the snack bar and look for some interesting drinks to introduce for a special Roman theme night at the Talon."  
  
One minute he was enjoying a nice relaxing massage with two beautiful girls running their hands all over his body and the next they were trying to hustle him out of the room. What did I just miss, thought Lex. Shaking his head, Lex got up, took Lana's hand and headed for the door. When he reached the door, he turned and said, "Clark, don't do anything I wouldn't do. Wait, scratch that. Don't do anything YOU wouldn't do back in Smallville." Then he turned and headed back out into the exercise area.  
  
After Lex and Lana left, Chloe went over and closed the door. She then walked back over to Clark and put her hands on his shoulders and started rubbing his neck. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Sure, why not?"  
  
"You just got this look on your face like you were troubled by something. Even Lana picked up on it, that's why she drug Lex out of here."  
  
Clark took a deep breath. "I guess the reality of your life just hit home. Chloe, . . . how many times have you been married?"  
  
"Do you want a glib answer or the truth? I suspect the truth. I have been married 237 times. Barely more than Larry King and he is only in his 60's. . . . . Seriously, at the time almost every one of them seemed special. You have to understand how hard it is to be around people, but still to feel apart and alone."  
  
"How about children?"  
  
"Six hundred thirty eight. Unfortunately, my 'bots don't seem to pass on to my children. At least none of them ever lived longer than the normal life span or had extra-ordinary healing powers. Can you imagine what it is like to watch your children grow old and die and then your grandchildren?"  
  
"No, I guess I can't. It must be very hard." Said Clark, hearing the stress in Chloe's voice. "Are any of them still alive? Do you keep in touch with any of them?"  
  
Chloe shook her head. "No, my last grandson died eight years ago, he was 87. It has been almost a hundred years since I have had any children. Most of my children were born a long, long time ago. In fact, a large portion of mankind is probably descended from me."  
  
"What?" asked Clark.  
  
"At the peak of the last ice age the human population fell below 10,000. I read a research paper one time about how mankind has gone through several chokepoints in the past 100,000 years where humans almost died out. Scientists can tell by comparing DNA from isolated people scattered around the world. The last 'chokepoint' occurred about 15,000 years ago and 35% of all people alive today can trace their ancestry to one woman alive back then. That woman was me. I am probably your great, great, great grandmother."  
  
"No," Clark shook his head, "you might be Lex and Lana's many times great grandmother, but not mine."  
  
Clark seems so certain, thought Chloe. Maybe this is part of his big secret. And maybe getting him talking about it will distract him from thinking about me for a while, which will hopefully turn his mood around. After thinking for a few more seconds, Chloe asked, "How can you be so certain?"  
  
"Easy, I am not from Earth," said Clark.  
  
"What? You said you had special abilities, but what do you mean you're not from Earth?" The words came tumbling out too fast as they often did for Chloe when she got excited. How could Clark not be from Earth? Boy, this was certainly turning into a day of revelations for everyone.  
  
"It all goes back to the big meteor shower that hit Smallville. I was in a spaceship that crashed in the middle of the meteor storm," explained Clark.  
  
The investigative reporter, who had always been a large part of Chloe even before she came to Smallville, jumped in. "How could a spaceship have crashed without anyone noticing?"  
  
"Oh, somebody noticed, my parents. When the ship crashed it came so close to my parents' pickup that my Dad flipped the truck trying to avoid it."  
  
"But," said Chloe, "a spaceship, surely more than just your parents saw it crash or saw it later."  
  
"Actually, it was very small, only about eight long and four feet wide. Before anyone else saw it my Dad hid it in our storm cellar."  
  
"How could something that small travel from another planet? How could it hold sufficient air and food?" asked Chloe.  
  
"I don't know," answered Clark, "I didn't even know about the spaceship until last fall. Since then we have been unable to activate it or even open it."  
  
"How could you not know about the spaceship you arrived in?"  
  
"Well, I was only three at the time, so I don't remember my arrival. Then my parents felt it was best I didn't know. They were afraid I might accidentally say something to give myself away. It was hard enough to pound into my thick skull to never use my powers in front of others."  
  
"So you have put it off long enough, tell me about your 'powers'," said Chloe.  
  
Clark, who was still lying on his stomach, sat up and jumped down from the bench. "Perhaps showing you is better than telling you." Then Clark vanished. Chloe was standing two feet in front of Clark, looking directly at him, when he appeared to blur a little and then was just gone. She quickly spun around, but Clark was no where in sight. Then, just as suddenly, Clark was standing in front of her again.  
  
"Wow, Clark," exclaimed Chloe, "how did you do that?"  
  
Clark blushed a little, "Like I said, I can move very fast."  
  
"How fast?"  
  
"You know how occasionally I miss the bus?" Chloe lifted an eyebrow. "Okay, more than occasionally. Anyway my personal best time for the five miles from the farm to school is fourteen seconds."  
  
"Five miles in fourteen seconds?" Clark watched as Chloe's eyes rolled up towards the ceiling as she did the math in her head. "That's over twelve hundred miles an hour."  
  
"Actually, over short distances I have gone even faster. Several times in the past year, since all of the meteor-related freaks have started to show up in Smallville, I have had to outrun bullets to keep from getting hit or stop someone else from getting hurt."  
  
"Clark Kent, faster than a speeding bullet, who would have guessed." chuckled Chloe. "That is a very interesting and usefully 'power'."  
  
"Ahh, hope you're not too freaked out," said Clark watching her eyes. "There's more."  
  
Chloe walked over to the other bench and leaned back. "I'll admit that in 17,000 years I thought I had seen it all, but I guess not. I am not freaked yet, so let's hear the rest."  
  
Clark leaned back against his own bench. "I am very strong."  
  
Chloe looked at the chiseled muscles of his chest and abs. I knew there was a special reason I liked that body, she thought. "Okay, I'll bite. How strong are you?"  
  
Clark shook his head. "I am not sure. Remember back at the homecoming dance when Whitney and his buddies found their pickups stacked on top of each over?" She nodded. "I did it as a little payback for them making me the scarecrow and leaving me tied up out in the cornfield."  
  
"So let me get this straight, you stacked three four-thousand pound trucks on top of each other by hand?"  
  
Clark nodded, "And over the past year all of my powers have really been growing. I am not certain how strong I am now."  
  
"But," said Chloe, "if you are so strong, how did Whitney manage to tie you up in the cornfield?"  
  
"The only weakness I have is close contact with meteor rocks. It is strange and seems like it must somehow be the key to who I am. I mean, I show up in a giant shower of the one thing that can hurt me. If I get within a few feet of one, I get dizzy and start to feel weak. Within one foot and its like I have the strength of an eighty-year-old man. Touching one feels like I am about to die. Although the absolute worst experience was coming though the portal. Usually it starts with wherever the rock is touching like my hand and then slowly spreads across my body. But with the portal it is like every molecule in my body is being ripped apart. I am not looking forward to the trip back through the portal to get home." Clark took a deep breath and slowly let it out.  
  
"Anyway back to the scarecrow story. Remember the green stone pendant Lana use to wear?"  
  
Chloe nodded. "Sure, the piece of meteor rock that killed . . . Oh, meteor rock," said Chloe as she fell silent.  
  
"Yeah, I always felt sort of sick around her and seemed unusually clumsy and off balance. I never understood why. It has only been during the past year with all of the 'wall of weird' activity that I finally saw the pattern that it was always around the rocks that I felt sick."  
  
"Oh, Clark, and here we are chasing after the Professor trying to get his meteor rocks. What happens when we find them?"  
  
"Fortunately, I have found that lead blocks the effect on me. To finish the scarecrow story, Lana had given Whitney her necklace. When he and the other football players came for me, he got close to me and I collapse before I realized what was happening. Then he left me tied up with Lana's pendant around my neck. If Lex hadn't showed up and accidentally removed it, well I might still be out in that field.  
  
"Once I figured out that lead acts as a shield, I convinced Lana it was time for her to let go of her parents by putting away her pendant in a box I had given her, which just happened to be made of lead."  
  
Clark looked Chloe in the eye. "You need to help me find or have made a lead box before we catch up with the Professor, so I can be safely around the rocks until we return to the portal."  
  
"Of course," agreed Chloe. "I'll put it at the top of my list of things to do after we leave the baths."  
  
Chloe stood up, walked over to Clark, and put her arms around him. "Do you still have more to tell?" Clark nodded. "Could we stretch out on one of the benches and you hold me while we continue to talk?" Clark nodded and slid back on the bench, which he had been leaning against.  
  
Chloe climbed up beside him. She half rolled over until her left leg was drape over his. Her left arm was stretched up across his chest, so her left hand could run through his curly black hair. She leaned her face close to his and whispered. "Before you continue, can I kiss the strongest, fastest man I have ever met in all my long life?"  
  
Clark didn't even bother to nod he just leaned forward till his lips touched hers.  
  
In a few seconds it became obvious that all thoughts and concerns about Chloe's past and Clark's powers were being forgotten. Now it was just Clark and Chloe, two old friends growing into something more.  
  
It seemed like they had only been kissing for moments when someone started rapping on the door. Reluctantly, they broke the kiss and Clark glanced towards the door.  
  
"It's Marina." Clark whispered.  
  
Chloe looked at the closed door and then at Clark with a quizzical expression on her face.  
  
Clark grinned and squinted his eyes at her. "X-ray vision," he explained.  
  
"What? Come on. Super fast. Okay. Super strong. We'll wait and see. But X-ray vision, too?"  
  
"If you don't believe me, open the door and see for yourself," said Clark as he laid his head back down on the bench while waiting for her to move.  
  
Slowly Chloe got up off the table letting her fingers linger playfully on one of his nipples before she walked over to the door. Opening it, she was not at all surprised to see Marina standing there.  
  
"LHi, Coelia. Hope I am not interrupting anything too exciting." said Marina.  
  
"LNo," answered Chloe, "Lbut if you had waited ten more minutes . . ."  
  
"LSorry about that, but we need to head to the baths soon. I have several things I need to attend to before dinner," explained Marina.  
  
"LYeah, me too. Let's go find Lex and Lana so we can be on our way." Chloe turned to Clark. "Time to hit the baths. I guess we will have to finish this conversation later." Chloe's eyes ran down Clark's body one last time before he climbed down from the bench. Her eyes stopped at his loincloth. "Looks like you need to spend some time in the frigidarium."  
  
Clark glanced down and started to blush. Chloe noticed the blush and was glad to see in some ways he was a normal 21st century sixteen-year-old kid.  
  
Chloe tossed him one of the large towels to give him a little extra cover. As they headed out into the main exercise area she asked, "So, are all walls as transparent as glass to you?"  
  
Clark shook his head. "No, fortunately not. Life would be a lot more difficult if all walls were nearly invisible all of the time. I have to focus my attention to kick in the x-ray vision. And then it is a lot like an x-ray, solid objects like metal, stones, and bones are pretty clear, but the rest of peoples bodies are little more than outlines."  
  
"If Marina was little more than bones and an outline, how did you know it was her?" asked Chloe.  
  
"Lucky guess. No actually, since the person on the other side of the door was about five months pregnant, the odds it was Marina were pretty high."  
  
"Oh, I forgot, I guess being five months pregnant and standing at that door would narrow it down." answered Chloe.  
  
As they rounded the corner into the other leg of the exercise room they saw Lana and Lex sitting down by the snack. Chloe waved to get their attention and they rose and meet the others half way.  
  
"Time to hit the baths," explained Chloe. "We have a few tasks we still need to accomplish today."  
  
It had only been a few minutes since they had left the massage room, but Lana could tell by just looking at him that Clark's mood had changed for the better. A few minutes alone with Chloe had made a big difference. If only she could spend a few minutes alone with Whitney or maybe Clark. How would Whitney be coping if he had traveled back in time instead of Clark? She hated to admit it, but probably not as well. Hopefully, she could continue to cope also.  
  
As they reached the entrance to the bathing areas, where the boys and girls had to separate, everyone was a little disappointed the fun times at the baths were coming to an end. Oh, a relaxing soak in the baths still lay ahead, but being segregated would take most of the fun out of it. Everyone took one last lingering look at the others' skimpy exercise attire before heading into the baths.  
  
End of Chapter Eight 


	9. Portal Chapter 9

The Portal  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek  
  
Now on with the story.]  
  
Lex and Clark walked out of their third tavern of the evening. "Well, Lex, are we any closer to finding the Professor?" asked Clark.  
  
"Maybe. One of the guys I talked to said that the mystery canyon guards hang out at the Green Chariot Tavern two streets over."  
  
"The Green Chariot tavern. And this one was the Red Charioteer. What's the significance of the names?"  
  
"From what I gathered here and talking to Chloe before we left the palace, most people back here are insanely fanatical about chariot racing. We hear mostly about the gladiator fighting back home, but in reality it was a very distant second to chariot racing. There are four different factions: red, white, green, and blue. Think of it like modern baseball, all of the moderate sized towns out in the provinces have farm teams. The better drivers and horse teams move up to bigger cities and eventually the best end up at the Circus Maximus in Rome. Anyway many taverns are associated with a specific color, hence the names."  
  
"Hmmm," said Clark, "now that you mention it a lot of the guys in the last tavern did seem to have red somewhere in their clothing. Sort of like the Bloods and Crips back home."  
  
"Oh, I think it is a lot scarier here than that." Clark gave him a sharp look. "Think about it. You always hear stories about brawls breaking out between fans at soccer matches in Europe. And those are supposedly 'civilized' people. What about here? These people watch other people hack each other to bits for fun. For fun. People like Marcus have this veneer of civilization, but the people I have been talking to in these taverns. . . Well, I wouldn't deal with them back home without a good-sized security force for back-up."  
  
"Do you want to call it quits? Perhaps we can come up with a safer way to find the Professor," said Clark.  
  
"No. I want to get this over with and get us back home. Just keep your eyes open, we may need to make a quick exit."  
  
Clark nodded as they reached the entrance to the Green Chariot. Like the other taverns they had visited this evening, it was doing a booming business. Even before entering they could hear a band playing and a lot of men singing along. Once through the door Clark saw thirty to forty men at tables and benches around the perimeter of the large room. Everyone was drinking wine or ale and a lot of them were eating bread and mutton stew. The band was located in the back left corner of the room along with most of those singing. Clark didn't understand the words, but it was obviously a raunchy song directed towards the two women dancing in a cleared area between the band and the bar. From what Lex had explained after the first tavern, these women were house prostitutes along with the other five or six women scattered at tables around the room.  
  
In a little over 12 hours in Tolosa Clark had seen more naked or near naked bodies than in a lifetime in Smallville. He had even seen Chloe and Lana in less than they would have dared back in Smallville. But he was still shocked to see people openly fucking in public, as went on in these taverns.  
  
While Clark was observing the room, Lex had headed over to the bar. Clark realized that more eyes were following Lex's progress than had occurred in the previous taverns. And the noise level, which had been extremely high, had dropped very slightly, but a noticeable amount to Clark. He quickly hurried after Lex.  
  
He arrived at the bar, where Lex was talking to the bartender, just as a dagger flashed across the room aimed at Lex's back. Clark saw it when it as twelve inches from Lex. As it always did in these situations, time seemed to almost grind to a halt. As he moved towards the dagger, Clark scanned the room until he spotted the thrower whose arm was still in the follow-through motion.  
  
Then Clark wrapped his fist around the hilt of the dagger and stopped it six inches from Lex's back. To the eyes that had been following Lex through the room, Clark's left arm appeared to slam out of nowhere to catch the knife. Clark then scanned the room meeting the eyes of a number of the guys who had been watching Lex before settling his gaze on the one who had thrown the knife.  
  
Clark gave a slow deliberate shake of his head and casually tossed the dagger up into the air. Then moving somewhat faster than humanly possible, he pivoted his body, caught the blade in his right hand, and threw it impossibly fast towards the assassin. Before anyone could turn their eyes to follow the knife, it passed one inch to the side of his head and buried itself in the timber wall behind him. The six-inch blade was buried to the hilt. Later, several men would try to remove it, but none of them could budge it until finally the blade snapped off.  
  
Lex felt some movement behind him, but all of the action was over before he could turn. When he did finally turn Clark was striding off across the room.  
  
Clark walked up to the man who had thrown the dagger and grabbed his leather vest just below the throat with one hand. Holding him up so that his toes just touched the ground, Clark marched him back over to Lex.  
  
"Lex, I think this is the one we want to talk to," Clark said as he hoisted the man off of the ground and slammed his back against a ceiling support beam at the edge of the bar. The man who was at least ten inches shorter than Clark dangled a good foot and a half above the floor.  
  
"And how did you happen to choose him?" asked Lex as he looked the man over. At first he looked as scared as any man Lex had seen in a long time. Then a look of relief crossed his face as he looked past Clark and Lex. Lex turned and looked back too. "Shit." Eight men with drawn swords were approaching.  
  
End of Chapter Nine 


	10. Portal Chapter 10

The Portal  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek  
  
Now on with the story.]  
  
Shit, thought Lex again to himself. Think faster, how am I going to get us out of this before I get Clark and myself killed. I never should have let the others come through the portal with me.  
  
As Lex was thinking furiously of a way to get them out of there, Clark too was thinking hard. How was he going to stop these swordsmen without giving away his 'secret'? If came down to it, he would gladly sacrifice his 'secret' to save Lex.  
  
The swordsman were still approaching and when the closest was ten feet away Clark started to move to place himself between Lex and the others. Just then the door to the tavern slammed open and a squad of Roman soldiers marched in.  
  
As the armed men who were approaching Lex and Clark paused to look at the soldiers, a man who had been standing by one of the windows walked up to the soldiers and conferred briefly with their leader. Then as the soldiers started to disarm the men with the swords, the man from the window walked up to Lex.  
  
Reaching out his hand he began, "LGreetings, I am Nicholas Boccaccio, the captain of Governor Martialis' personal guard. I presume you are Alexandrum Luthorius?"  
  
With a sigh of relief Lex nodded and clasped the proffered forearm. "L What a lucky coincidence that you happened to be here with a squad of men waiting outside."  
  
Nicholas gave a good-natured laugh. "LOh, no coincidence, as I am sure you guessed. The governor's sister-in-law asked that someone keep an eye on you. After the first couple of stops tonight, I could guess you were going to end up here, so I got here first. However I never expected them to make a move against you so fast. Someone certainly has it in for you. You're lucky your friend has the fastest reflexes I have ever seen."  
  
"LClark?" said Lex with a glance towards him, but Clark, who wasn't able to follow the conversation, just continued to watch the soldiers while keeping a restraining hand on the would be assassin.  
  
"LYeah," said Nicholas. "LHe didn't seem to be that close to you when the knife was thrown, then 'bam' he is standing right behind you with the dagger caught in his fist. And then the speed with which he turned and threw the dagger back, I am surprised he missed."  
  
Lex took another quick look at Clark and thought 'Once more Clark saves me from certain death. If Nicholas and soldiers hadn't showed up, I wonder how he would have saved me from the swordsmen.'  
  
Turning back to Nicholas, Lex shook his head, "LI am sure if my friend Clark missed it was intentional. You must be aware we are here looking for information. What better source of info than one of your enemy's hired killers?"  
  
'Did I just say enemy about Professor Carey?' thought Lex, 'Well, he did try to kill me. At least I assume the guy with the dagger works for the Professor. Him and then the swordsmen; too organized to be a random act of violence against a couple of strangers.'  
  
"LYes," responded Nicholas, "LI am sure the Governor will want to question this man who tried to kill a friend of his sister-in-law. I think it is time we escort you back to the Palace."  
  
Lex nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I think this guy is going to give us all of the useful information we are going to get from this crowd tonight. Let me explain the situation to my friend, Clark, and then we can be on our way."  
  
-------------------  
  
"L So, anyway, Marcus, that's why it is urgent that we find Carius," Chloe finished explaining just as the door to the formal dining room opened.  
  
Chloe, Marcus, and Marina all quickly looked up from the divans on which they were reclining as Clark, Lex, and Nicholas strode into the center of the room.  
  
Clark plopped down on Chloe's divan and started helping himself to the remains of her dinner, while Chloe looked back and forth between Clark, Lex, and the third man who she didn't recognize.  
  
"Lex, what happened?" asked Chloe.  
  
"Oh, just another typical evening on the town for us. I am starting to lose count, Clark. Is this the seventh or eighth time you have saved my life?"  
  
Clark just shrugged his shoulders with his usual 'slightly embarrassed over the attention' expression on his face.  
  
"Lex, what happened?" Chloe asked again.  
  
"Some guy tried to throw a dagger into my back, but Clark managed to catch it in mid-flight. Then there was this big group of guys approaching with drawn swords."  
  
Chloe gave Clark a quick look and raised one eyebrow. Clark gave a barely perceptible shake of his head, but Lex caught the interchange. 'What does Chloe know that I don't know?' thought Lex.  
  
"So how did you handle the guys with the swords?" she asked.  
  
"Fortunately, Nicholas here," and Lex nodded his head towards the third man, "showed up just in the nick of time with a squad of soldiers."  
  
When he saw her look at Nicholas without any recognition in her eyes, Lex switched to Latin and continued, "L I thought you knew him since you had him sent. This is Nicholas Boccaccio."  
  
At this point Marcus jumped into the conversation, "LLet me make the proper introduction, Coelia. Coelia, this is Nicholas Boccaccio, the captain of my personal guard. Nicholas, this is my sister-in-law, Coelia Doinysia Flavius. Coelia, Nicholas is my best officer, that's why I asked him to fulfill your request to have someone watch Lex and Clark's back."  
  
Turning to Nicholas, Chloe gave him a quick once over before speaking. He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes indicating some German blood in a not too distant branch of his family tree. Also at an even six feet, he was taller than most full-blooded Romans Chloe had known. And he was kind of cute in a surfer dude sort of way.  
  
"L Thanks for your help, Nicholas," said Chloe with a generous smile.  
  
"L Glad I could help," responded Nicholas. "LAlthough for some reason I get the feeling they would have managed even without my help."  
  
"LMaybe, Clark is very resourceful in a tight situation," said Lex. "LHowever I am very appreciative of your help in the interrogation of the prisoner. Clark doesn't speak the language and I think he is a little squeamish about hard interrogation."  
  
"LLex, what prisoner? What 'hard' interrogation?" asked Chloe with a tilt of her head and her own 'hard' look in her eyes.  
  
"LOh, didn't I mention that Clark grabbed the guy who threw the dagger and managed to hold on to him throughout the fun with swordsmen? Well, I don't feel any remorse for being a little rough on someone who just tried to kill me. Besides, Coelia, don't tell me you haven't done some 'hard interrogations' in your life."  
  
"LOkay, Lex," admitted Chloe, "LI do have some dark moments in my past. Perhaps sometime when we are sitting around a campfire telling scary stories I'll tell you about some of my 'hard interrogations'. Now, did you find out anything that will help us locate Carius?"  
  
"L Good news and bad news. Good news is that we have a good idea where he is headed. Bad news is that he has a big lead and it is going to take some time to catch up with him," responded Lex.  
  
Just then several slaves entered the dining room and Marcus directed them to arrange a couple of additional divans for Lex and Nicholas, as it was apparent Clark was going to share Chloe's. Also he sent them for another round of desserts and wine.  
  
Lex continued, "L Perhaps, it would be best if Nicholas explains since he has some history with these people." At this remark Marcus shot a glance at Nicholas, who nodded his head. "L Before we started the questioning I explained to Nicholas that it was urgent that we locate Carius."  
  
"LHowever you never explained why you are looking for him," responded Nicholas.  
  
"LI was just explaining that to Marcus and Marina when you arrived." said Chloe.  
  
At this comment Lex leaned forward slightly, curious to hear what story she had concocted to explain their current situation.  
  
"LAs I explained to Marcus when we first arrived in town this morning, Lex works for my family running some of our mining operations in Britannia. At the time I said that Clark and Lana were sons and daughters of a couple local chieftains who I had taken on as servants. Actually, the truth is a little more complicated."  
  
"LWhen I arrived in Britannia to inspect the operations, Lex started discussing the negotiations he had been carrying out with some Caledonians. The Caledonians, who live many days travel north of Britannia, apparently have found some very rich gemstone deposits, based on the samples they had shown to Lex. Lex had made several trips to their homeland attempting to secure the distribution rights within the Roman Empire for us. Unfortunately, the Caledonians are very traditional and would only sign a treaty with an actual member of the family rather than with an underling. Since I had already traveled all the way to Britannia anyway, I agreed to accompany Lex.  
  
"L After several weeks of travel we finally arrived in the Capitol City of Caledonia just in time for a large festival in honor of Lana's coming of age. While she is traveling with me she is trying to maintain a low profile, but actually she is the only child of the King of Caledonia. Anyway after several months of celebrations the final step for her to become the legal heir to the throne is the presentation of the hereditary mystical jewels that have been handed down through the royal family for over a thousand years. Unfortunately, when the king, Elvis the Great, went to retrieve them from the royal storeroom, they had disappeared. So until they are found and recovered, Lana can't inherit the kingdom and it has become her responsibility to retrieve them."  
  
During the long conversation in Latin, Clark had finished off all of the food on the low table in front of Chloe's divan. After that he had stretched out next to her and mostly focused his attention on running his fingertips up and down her left arm in a most distracting manner. Finally, having heard a word he recognized, Clark spoke up.  
  
"Elvis?" he remarked.  
  
Chloe turned to him and said softly, "I am just explaining we come from a land where Elvis is the king and Lana is his daughter."  
  
Clark started to get this big grin on his face and even Lex looked like he was going to start laughing.  
  
"Come on guys," said Chloe. "This is serious. If Elvis really was the king where we came from it would be most inappropriate to be laughing at his name."  
  
"You started it, Chloe," said Lex. "You could just as easily pick a more traditional name like . . . Richard, or Arthur, or Louis, or even Charlemagne."  
  
"Sorry, sometimes the words just start pouring out when I get in storytelling mode. Why do you thing I love journalism so much?"  
  
"And Lana, the daughter of a king?" asked Clark.  
  
"I just want her to have a little more fun. You know 'live the fantasy'. Since she was a princess in that photo on the cover of Time, why not let her be a princess while we are here?" said Chloe. "Therefore when we are around others everyone needs to stay in character. Clark, you and Lana are from the same land and even though you are pretending to be equals, in little ways you need to make it obvious that you consider her to be several stations above you. Lex, within the Roman empire you have only second class status, however that still leaves you above any outsider in the eyes of other Romans, but Lana's wealth and power colors your attitude and behavior towards her."  
  
"Chloe, you are just loving this opportunity to change up our roles, aren't you?" asked Lex. When Chloe nodded, he shrugged his shoulders and continued. "Okay, I guess I will bow to your wishes. You and Lana will be in charge. You, because of your knowledge of these times and Lana because she is royalty."  
  
"Speaking of Lana, where is she?" asked Clark.  
  
"She ate earlier and decide to retire complaining that it has been a long couple of days. I think she wanted to give me some time to chat with Marcus and Marina without having to stop and translate everything for her. Now let me finish my story, so we can get on to discussing the professor."  
  
"Okay, I guess I can go back to playing with your body," said Clark.  
  
"Just don't distract me too much or I'll have to get even."  
  
Smiling, Chloe turned back to the others. "LSorry about the distraction. Now where was I? Oh, yes, the missing royal gems. After seeking guidance from the gods and some old fashion detective work, it was discovered that Carius is the one who made off with the royal gems. Apparently, they do have some mystical powers he is trying to harness to maintain the influence in Rome like he had with Tiberius. Since Carius was heading back into the Roman Empire and Lana doesn't speak the language, Lex and I were recruited to help."  
  
"LRecruited?" asked Marcus.  
  
"LLet's just say Lana made me a financial offer I couldn't refuse. Particularly since I was heading back this direction anyway," answered Chloe.  
  
Marcus tilted his head with a decidedly hungry look on his face.  
  
Chloe smiled back, "LYou are family, I am happy to cut you in for a part of the deal. We will need to arrange some well armed caravans to pass through the wilds of Britannia at regular intervals to transport trade goods north in exchange for the Caledonians' gemstones."  
  
Marcus nodded.  
  
"LWhat about Clark?" asked Nicholas.  
  
"LWell," said Chloe starting to blush. "LThe king wasn't comfortable with Lana heading off alone with a couple of almost complete strangers. I had been flirting with Clark a little at these games they were having as part of the festival and I sort of put the bug in the king's ear that Clark should accompany us."  
  
Lex was impressed how well Chloe could stay in character while telling the story. Even blushing right on cue, but then you would have to assume she had tons of practice. Hopefully, the rest of us can do as well.  
  
"LWhat event was Clark competing in at the games?" asked Marina.  
  
"LLet me guess," said Nicholas. "LKnife throwing?"  
  
"LYeah," said Lex jumping in to support Chloe's story. "I saw him throw ten bulls-eyes in a row from twenty five paces."  
  
"LThat's the short version of why we are looking for Carius. We need to retrieve the royal gems so Lana can claim her inheritance and once she is in power we can conclude our trading pact," said Chloe.  
  
"LSo why did Carius put the bounty on Lex's head and how did you end up here in Tolosa?" asked Nicholas. "LThis doesn't seem like the most direct route from Britannia to Rome."  
  
"LWe almost caught up to him in Dubria on Britannia's southern coast. Well, Lex did catch sight of him in the harbor and they recognized each other from the festival in Caledonia. Apparently, Carius realized Lex was following and tried to lose him by taking a ship to western Gaul rather than just crossing the channel.  
  
"LWe managed to discover that he came ashore south of Burdigala and that he had connections to the Tolosa area," continued Chloe. "LI don't know if he knew Lex was still on his trail or if he was just being cautious. However Lex is pretty distinctive looking and he may have left orders to take out anyone who matched his description."  
  
"LOh, he definitely knew Lex was on his trail according to what Patricus told us," said Nicholas.  
  
"LWho?" asked Chloe.  
  
"LThe guy we have been interrogating," said Nicholas as he started to explain what they had learned from the would be assassin.  
  
"LI guess I should explain," began Nicholas. "LI grew up here in Tolosa. About five years ago, long before I started to work for Marcus, I did a stint as a guard for Carius. Lots of the young men in Tolosa have done it at some point. Easy way to pickup a few extra coins. But not much chance of advancement when you work for a man who is seldom around."  
  
"L I left after eighteen months and did other things until I hooked up with Marcus two years ago, but I still know some of the guys who work for Carius here in Tolosa.  
  
"LThat's why after overhearing Lex's questions in the first couple of taverns I knew he would end up at the Green Chariot, it has always been the hangout for Carius' guards.  
  
"LAnyway," Nicholas continued. "L According to Patricus, he happened to be on guard duty yesterday when about noon Carius showed up walking down the canyon towards the wall. Now Patricus had never met him before, but happened to be on duty with Gaius, an old-timer who has worked for Carius it seems like forever. None of the guards knew Carius was here or how he got up the canyon without anyone noticing, but Carius has shown up unexpectedly before so no one was too surprised.  
  
"LCarius had a short meeting with Gaius saying that it was urgent that he get back to Rome as quickly as possible. Also that a bald, young man was probably going to show up either in the canyon or in town asking for him. He offered 50 pieces of gold to the man or squad who killed him. Within an hour of first arriving at the wall, Carius and a small group of bodyguards had set out on horseback."  
  
As Nicholas wound down, Chloe signed for him to pause and then turned and summarized to Clark what he had said. Clark thought over the timing in his head and realized the professor had been gone from the wall for several hours by the time he first reached it yesterday afternoon. So there had never been anyway he could have nipped this whole adventure in the bud.  
  
"Looks like your comment earlier about all roads leading to Rome is going to hold true for us after all," said Clark.  
  
"Yeah," responded Chloe. "With a day and a half head start we might not catch him until Rome unless we push a lot hard than he does. I have a feeling that we won't be able to catch him, but we better give it our best try. The sooner we have the meteor rocks back in our possession, the better I will feel. Let me talk to Marcus and see if we can make arrangements to head out early tomorrow morning."  
  
Chloe turned back to Marcus. "L We want to set off at first light towards Rome to try and catch Carius. Can you make arrangements for horses for the four of us? And an imperial seal, so we can use the imperial relay horses, at least as far as Arelate? If we push hard, we should be able to reach my family estate in Arelate by tomorrow evening and, if necessary, I came come up with other arrangements from there."  
  
"L Certainly, Coelia," answered Marcus, "L Anything I can do to help a member of the family. Would you like me to escort you along with a squadron or two of my guards?"  
  
"L Hmm, no I think I want to keep the party small so we can move fast, but an escort for the first few miles until we are well clear of Carius' men here in Tolosa would be appreciated," said Chloe. "LPerhaps one more favor?"  
  
Marcus nodded.  
  
"L After we catch up to Carius and retrieve the royal jewels, we will probably return through here on the journey back to Lana's and Clark's homeland. I hate to leave Carius with a power base here. Since you're having all the troubles with the Druids just now, could you perhaps conscript all of Carius' guards into the Legions and send them into the hinterlands in search of the Druid's main encampment until the current situation is past?"  
  
Marcus got a big grin on his face. "LCoelia, I always liked the way you think. Solving your problem and at the same time helping me with one of mine. I think a proclamation can be arranged for tomorrow afternoon after you are well clear of town. If I have them all on their way out in three days, will that be good enough?"  
  
Chloe nodded, "LThat would be great. Well, off to bed for us. Tomorrow looks to be a long day in the saddle."  
  
As Lex stood to follow the others out of the dining room he marveled at how easily Chloe and Marcus worked as a team, finding solutions to their problems that benefited both of them. How much stronger would Luthor Corp. be, if he and his father could work as a team rather than always as adversaries?  
  
Just as Chloe reached the doorway out of the dining room, Nicholas called out. "LCoelia!"  
  
Chloe turned back and looked expectantly.  
  
"LI know you said you want to keep your party small to travel fast, but I would like to accompany you, at least to your estate in Arelate. With all the current unrest a third sword to protect you and the princess would seem wise."  
  
Chloe looked over towards Marcus, who gave her a nod. "LI would be happy to have your services as guide, since it has been quite some time since I have been in this area west of Arelate. In the morning then," Chloe concluded and turned to head off to bed.  
  
End of Chapter Ten 


	11. Portal Chapter 11

The Portal  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek  
  
Now on with the story.]  
  
"Ahh," began Clark, as they gathered around the horses, which had just been led into the small courtyard behind the magistrate's palace. "Where are the stirrups for the saddles?"  
  
The others looked closer at the saddles and then Lana was the first to speak up, "Wow, finally a question I know the answer to."  
  
Putting one hand up onto the saddle of the nearest horse she continued. "The stirrup was not introduced into Western civilization until the time of Attila the Hun in about, oh say, four hundred years." The last part was said in a slightly hesitant tone and a glance to Chloe, who nodded.  
  
Clark had grown up on a farm, but had not spent a lot of time riding. He asked, "How do you stay in the seat without stirrups?"  
  
Lana gestured towards the top of the saddle. "By a combination of using your knees and these four horns. The traditional 'Cowboys and Indians' western saddle has a single center horn in the front and a curved up back piece to help keep you in place. These Roman saddles have two widely spread, curved horns in the front which wrap over the top of your thighs and two curved horns in the back that wrap slightly around your waist. It is suppose to keep you pretty securely in place. The only time I have seen a similar one in use was during a demonstration at the big Fort Worth Stock Show five years ago when Nell and I took Mr. Ed down for the Junior Jumping Championships. I got to try the Roman saddle briefly, but that one was designed for an adult, not an eleven year old girl so I am not really sure how well the design works."  
  
Lex jumped in; "You had a horse named Mr. Ed?"  
  
"Of course, of course, a wonderful horse, the incredible Mr. Ed," responded Lana with just a hint of the theme song in her voice. "And after feeding him the meteor rock enhanced, Luthor horse chow, he could even talk!"  
  
"Ha, ha, very funny, your highness," responded Lex with his usual deadpan expression.  
  
Clark picked up on Lex's comment and realized no one had explained the new version of the cover story to Lana yet. Perhaps a little fun to get the day started off right.  
  
"Yes, your Highness, that was very humorous," Clark said with a small bow. "May we have another song?"  
  
Lana looked from Clark to Lex, who both had silly grins, and then to Chloe, who was obviously trying to maintain a straight face.  
  
"Okay," Lana demanded, putting fists on her hips. "Who wants to explain all of this 'Your Highness' crap?"  
  
Chloe started giggling. "I bet you never expected to go to bed last night a commoner and wake up this morning a member of royalty."  
  
"What?!?"  
  
"Oh, and your father is Elvis and he is the king," said Lex. Then after pausing for a beat, he added, "Of Caledonia. Therefore you are a princess, hence, 'your highness'."  
  
Lana looked back and forth between the others and finally fixed her gaze on Clark. Of the three, he was the one most likely to break down and explain, if she held the stare.  
  
As she expected, Clark finally cracked. "Last night, after Lex and I got back from searching for info at the taverns, Chloe decided we needed a new cover story to address the meteor rocks, the bounty on Lex's head, and why we are looking for the professor. Since my Latin is non-existent I only got it second hand, but once she got started she seems to have gotten a little carried away. Now you and I are no longer from Britain, but from some imaginary kingdom north of there called Caledonia."  
  
"It is not imaginary," interrupted Chloe. "It is a real kingdom located in present day Scotland."  
  
"And is Elvis really the king, too?" asked Clark.  
  
"Well, he is the king of rock and roll. Isn't that enough? Okay, so I didn't happen to know who the current king of Caledonia is, sue me. Elvis just happened to pop into my head." answered Chloe still smiling.  
  
"So now I am Princess Lana of Caledonia?"  
  
"Yeah, but you are traveling more or less incognito as my handmaiden. At least until the rumors start to spread."  
  
"Is there more to this cover story?"  
  
"Yeah, but it can wait for later." Turning towards the horse, Chloe said. "Getting back to the saddles, the curved horns do a better job of holding you in place than you would expect, if they are properly fitted to the rider. All professional riders, like cavalrymen, have custom-made saddles. However these general-use saddles are pretty easy to adjust by tightening and loosening a couple of straps."  
  
As Chloe was demonstrating how to adjust the straps for the horns, the horse swung its head around and nipped at her arm. Chloe jumped back and angrily exclaimed, "Damn, fucking horses."  
  
Clark, Lana, and Lex all just stared at her, never having heard that kind of language from her. Feeling the stares, Chloe sheepishly shook her head and explained. "For some reason horses and I have never gotten along well. Thousands and thousands of years and in all of that time I have had exactly two horses, which I could more than just tolerate. Usually, I would try to travel by carriage or boat or even by walking. Finally, starting about 150 years ago railroads, streetcars, subways, and automobiles became available, and I haven't been on a horse since. Now, joy of joys, it's back to my favorite mode of transportation, horseback."  
  
As she finished talking, Chloe vaulted into the saddle she had just been adjusting. With one hand lightly grasping the reins and using just her knees for control, Chloe backed the horse up about ten feet, had the horse do a quick 360 degree spin in-place, and then had it walk back up to the others.  
  
Noticing the nod of appreciation from Lana for this demonstration of equestrian skill, Chloe grinned, "Oh, horses and I may not be the best of friends, but I have had a lot of practice."  
  
Chloe then proceeded to continue her demonstration, this time explaining the various commands that Roman horses were trained to recognize. As she was finishing, Marcus rode up with a cavalry squad of 20 riders.  
  
"LCoelia, are you ready to hit the road?" shouted Marcus.  
  
"LYeah, I'm anxious to be on our way." Motioning to the others, Chloe remounted her horse. Lana gracefully vaulted atop her mount. Lex and Clark also climbed onto their horses, but with a lot less skill than the girls did. When Nicholas mounted his ride, it was obvious he had spent a fair amount of time in the saddle. After he was comfortably seated, one of the stableboys handed him the leads to the two pack animals Marcus had also provided.  
  
Chloe led the others over towards Marcus who turned and headed out of the courtyard. They quickly headed out of the town and took the road leading to Narbo and the Mediterranean Sea.  
  
After thirty minutes of steady riding, the party was seven or eight miles from town when Marcus reigned in at a fork in the road. Marcus turned to Chloe; "L Here's where we part ways, unless you have changed your mind. I would like to swing north and check out the defenses at a couple of the nearby mining operations before returning to Tolosa."  
  
Chloe shook her head, "LNo, we will be fine." She reached over and clasped his hand. "LIt has been nice seeing you and Marina again. If our business works out, we should be passing back through this area in a few weeks. Perhaps we will have a little more time then."  
  
"L I look forward to it. Although, these are unsettled times and who knows where I will be in a few weeks," Marcus responded with a warm smile. "LAnd I will take care of that other matter we talked about." Then with a wave to the others, Marcus and his troops turned and head up the road to the northeast.  
  
Chloe and the others continued down the main road to the southeast while picking the pace up to a canter. Fortunately the slower pace set by the troops had given everyone a chance to get use to riding again and the feel for the unconventional saddles.  
  
For the first time since this adventure had begun, Lana started to relax and feel like she had something to contribute to their efforts to get home. With thirty minutes to observe the others, it was obvious she was the strongest horseman of the group.  
  
Clark had to work a lot harder than the others just to stay in the saddle. So she gave him several pointers to make it easier for him.  
  
Lex had ridden some in the past, but from the way he was holding the reins too tightly, he also benefited from a couple of suggestions.  
  
Finally Lana pulled up next to Chloe. She, of course, had tons of experience, but even she admitted she didn't have a natural affinity for horses. Like just sensing right now that the horses would be more comfortable at a slightly faster canter.  
  
Catching Chloe's eye, Lana said, "The horses would be happier at a little faster pace." When Chloe nodded, Lana tapped her heals on the flanks of her horse and took the lead.  
  
Chloe quickly pulled up beside her. At this pace they had to ride with their knees almost touching to converse comfortably. "Thanks for the suggestions," said Chloe. "If you have any more, just jump right in."  
  
"I'm just glad I finally have something useful to add," replied Lana.  
  
"I understand how it can be to feel like a fish out of water. It has happened to me a lot of times before in my life. Well, not the whole time travel thing, but the part about being suddenly thrust into a new culture where you don't speak the language. Speaking of which, on horseback at almost a gallop may not be the best time, but let's start some Latin lessons for you and Clark. Particularly since it looks like we are going to be here for more than just a day or two." When Lana nodded, Chloe twisted back in her saddle and called to Clark to come ride on her other side.  
  
When Clark caught up to them and finally got his horse fully back under control, Chloe said, "Okay, students, Chloe's accelerated Latin school is now in session. Do you remember the 'Do-Re-Mi' song from 'The Sound of Music'? They had the right idea. At least for me, singing works better at quickly memorizing the basics. Let's see if I can come up with a song with some of the basic phrases you will need."  
  
"Ahh, Chloe," said Clark with just a hint of a nervous whine in his voice. "You expect us to sing when we need to say something in Latin?"  
  
"Come on, Clark, get into the spirit of things." said Chloe with a distracted look on her face as she concentrated on creating a song.  
  
"Yeah," said Lana. "Your voice isn't that bad. Is it?"  
  
"I guess not. At least as long as you stay in my three quarters of an octave range." admitted Clark.  
  
Meanwhile, Lex was riding about 20 feet back with Nicholas when he started hearing singing coming from the others. At first the words weren't clear, but it was definitely from 'The Sound of Music'. He started grinning when it became clear what Chloe was doing.  
  
Nicholas gave him a questioning look. Lex responded, "LMy friends Clark and Lana don't know Latin. Coelia is trying to teach them in her own unique way. With a song."  
  
Nicholas thought about it for a minute. "L Coelia does seem like a special woman."  
  
"LOh, she definitely is that," said Lex. More than you can possibly imagine, he thought. Hmm, that first day after we came through the portal I was wondering if I could find a spot to use Chloe in Luthor Corp. after she got out of school. But with what we found out yesterday, there doesn't seem to be any reason to wait. Like waiting five years would make any difference to someone over seventeen thousand years old. Seventeen thousand years, could I handle that without going crazy? Could I handle working with Chloe without going crazy? Clark's comment yesterday about not trying to take advantage of Chloe seemed so out of character, but after seeing Chloe with the freedom to be her true self and how naturally she takes command. Perhaps I better be careful about inviting Chloe to join Luthor Corp. or I might find myself working for Chloe Corp. Of course, it might be fun to drop a 'Chloe-bomb' on Dad and see his reaction to a 16 year old girl who could probably run his organization better than he can. Lex got a small smile and a sparkle in his eye as he imagined his father cut down to size by an apparent young girl.  
  
Realizing that Nicholas had been watching him expecting a response, Lex said, "LSorry, that melody," and he nodded his head towards Chloe, "Ljust brought back some old memories. So, tell me a little about yourself, Nicholas."  
  
"LWell, I can if you like, although I would like to hear more about the princess." answered Nicholas.  
  
Hmm, thought Lex. Am I looking at an admirer, a potential gold-digger, or something else?  
  
End of Chapter Eleven 


	12. Portal Chapter 12

The Portal  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
Chloe's original estimate of four hours to reach Narbo and the Mediterranean Coast had been a little optimistic. Even with two changes of horses, it had taken closer to six hours. By the time they arrived it was early afternoon and everyone was ready for lunch and a break.  
  
Nicholas knew of a little cafe right on the beach where they could get some mouthwatering seafood. While they waited for their lunch to be prepared, Clark and Lana dipped their feet in the water. The beach was covered with small three to four inch diameter stones rather than the sand they had been expecting, but neither Clark or Lana were world travelers like Lex or Chloe, so getting their feet wet in the Mediterranean was still a novelty.  
  
The food was soon ready and the five sat down to eat. As they dug into the food, which Lex thought was surprisingly similar to a shrimp Po'boy you would get in New Orleans, Chloe began to speak; "We are not maintaining the pace I had hoped. To reach my estate before nightfall we need to eat fast, hit the road and pickup the pace a little more."  
  
"Pick up the pace?" asked Lex. "I was going to suggest we slow the pace down. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am not use to traveling by horseback and my butt is killing me. Plus I am starting to understand the term 'saddle-sores'."  
  
Lana nodded, "I have to agree with Lex. I thought I rode a lot and could handle it, but six hours in these saddles is more than enough for me, too. I think it would help if I had my normal riding pants instead of this toga thing. Perhaps we need to discuss a change in strategy."  
  
Chloe looked over to Clark to get his reaction. While his body was immune to the effects Lex and Lana were feeling, he was discovering he was not a natural horseman. He even briefly toyed with the idea of letting the others in on his secret so he could just run along side rather than have to continue riding the horse. "I am not enjoying this mode of transportation very much either. Even if we could maintain the pace, what are the odds of us catching the Professor anytime soon with his day and a half head start? What's the point of rushing, if some of us are going to be seriously hurting by then?"  
  
Chloe studied their faces for a couple of minutes before replying. "Okay, you're right about catching the Professor. The odds are slim. Perhaps it is better if we proceed slower and use the time to work on Clark's and Lana's Latin skills. How about this, we stop here for the day and continue on to my estate tomorrow? I will have Nicholas see if he can locate a coach we can hire."  
  
The look of relief on the other's faces was more profound than she was expecting. Since she had let the others in on her secret and found out about Clark's abilities, she had let their differences slip from the front of her thoughts. With her 'bots doing their job, Chloe felt just as fresh and ready to continue as she had first thing in the morning. But Chloe had been a leader many times in the past and understood there were times when you needed to pace yourself based on the weakest member of the team, not the strongest.  
  
After the decision to stop for the day was made, the mood of the group lightened considerably. Lana turned to Chloe, "Since we have some time, how about a story from your life?"  
  
Chloe shook her head. "We really should focus on the Latin lessons."  
  
"Oh, come on," said Clark. "We spent hours working on it this morning. My brain is hurting more than my body. Let's have a story and then later this afternoon we can get back to the lessons."  
  
Chloe looked over at Lex. He smiled and said, "I have to admit, I would like to hear more about your life, too." He pointed to a group of shade trees on a small bluff off to their right. "Let's go stretch out under those trees."  
  
Chloe bowed to the group's wishes and as they gathered up their belongings, she tried to decide on an appropriate story.  
  
When they reached the bluff, Clark selected a spot with a couple of closely spaced trees that provided a good view of the water and from which the pounding of the surf provided relaxing background music. Clark sat down with his back against one of the trunks and Chloe stretched out with him, resting her head on his shoulder. Surprisingly, when Lex leaned back against the next tree, Lana assumed a position similar to Chloe's with her head resting on Lex's shoulder.  
  
Lana turned and looked Lex in the eye. "This may not be an appropriate thing to ask, but could you put your arms around me and hold me for awhile? The last couple of days have been really hard and some human contact would be nice."  
  
Lex nodded and shifted his position so that he could wrap his arms around her. As she leaned her head back, Lex leaned his head over and rested his cheek against her hair. It is amazing, Lex thought, how good she smells considering we have been in the saddle for six hours. I guess I need this human contact as much as she does. Sometimes I wish the tough, strong, self-reliant Lex everyone else sees was more than just a facade.  
  
As everyone got comfortable, Lex asked, "So what story are we going to get today, Chloe?"  
  
Chloe had been thinking about this for the last ten minutes. Based on Clark's reaction yesterday, he probably wasn't ready for one that involved husbands or boyfriends or children. So she decided on something different.  
  
"I think a story from a long time ago would be good for today. This story starts 12,309 years ago. Well, 12,309 years from when we left Smallville anyway," began Chloe.  
  
"Exactly 12,309 years ago, Mr. Spock?" asked Lana.  
  
Chloe grinned. "Okay, 12,309 years, 10 months, and 4 days to be precise. I didn't have time to describe things in detail at the temple yesterday. So before we start the story, let me explain a couple of things. My body contains about three quadrillion 'bots. Each one alone has very limited computer processing power or memory storage capacity, but they are all networked together into one massive three-dimensional array. Even with significant redundancies so that I won't permanently lose any data with a significant injury this works out to . . . Well, you've heard of people with 'photographic memories'? I have perfect recall of every sight, sound, smell, taste, and sense of touch for the last 17,000 years. So far this has used up about 3% of my total memory capacity. I guess in about 500,000 more years I will have to start deciding what memories to sacrifice."  
  
Lex started to get a little pale at this point, as he was the only one with even the smallest inkling of magnitude of numbers Chloe was talking about.  
  
Chloe continued, "Now all of this storage capacity wouldn't do any good if I didn't have a way to interface with it. Here's where the early activity of the computer gamers in the nanotech field back in my original era comes into play. The gamers developed the technology to place a 'bot at every synapse of every neuron of every brain cell. These 'bots could either pass any existing signal between brain cells or block the existing signal and initiate their own signal. The ultimate result was that the gamers brains could be total isolated from the real world and a signal from an outside computer would seem perfectly real. Not just to look at, but taste, smell, sound and touch too. The games seemed like reality, you could walk, run, even make love and it felt completely real.  
  
"The gamers version needed an external computer to do the processing, however mine was the first system of 'bots that had sufficient processing power to be completely self-contained. Hopefully this isn't too scary to hear, but my memory works differently from everyone else's. You may remember some important event in your life from five or ten years ago, but I can completely relive any moment in my past and it seems as completely real as the first time. This is handy when you need some detail like an address or phone number from 30 years ago, but it is a lifesaver when you are locked in a dark dungeon for thirty or forty years. Being able to perfectly relive happy times definitely holds off the insanity. Anyway, that's how I can definitively say this story starts 12,309 years ago."  
  
Chloe paused and looked at the others. Both Clark and Lana had this glazed look in their eyes that said they really didn't understand what she had said yet. Looking at Lex she could see the wheels and gears in his head turning so fast it looked like his brain was about to explode. With a small smile, Chloe wondered how long it would take for Lex to guess at some of her true capabilities.  
  
"Yesterday you were asking if I was ever someone famous. This story reaches the farthest back in time, while still involving the 'famous' Chloe. Of course, the story has been completely lost in time and thanks to an arrogant Pharaoh named Khafre even my face has been lost. If you haven't yet guessed, this is the story of how I was the original face on the Sphinx."  
  
End of Chapter Twelve 


	13. Portal Chapter 13

The Portal  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
Chapter Thirteen  
  
"Okay, Chloe. I'll bite. Why does the story start over 12,000 years ago?" asked Lex. "My Dad and I spent three weeks in Egypt when I was twelve. Although we were there mainly so my Father could attend some meetings, we did spend one day visiting the pyramids. I remember they were built around 2500 BC, which would have been about 4500 years before our time, not 12,000 plus years."  
  
Clark jumped in nodding, "I did a book report about the pyramids a few years ago and I remember the 2500 BC date, also."  
  
Chloe put on a pouting expression and with just a little lilt in her voice to indicate she wasn't too serious, she said, "Who are you going to believe, a book by a third rate historian or an eye witness account by someone who was there?"  
  
Then smiling, she continued in her normal voice. "The pyramids were built about the time the scholars say, but the Sphinx is much, much older. A few radical archaeologists have proposed a more or less accurate dating based on the significant water erosion around the legs of Sphinx, but most of the traditionalists remain unconvinced."  
  
"Perhaps before I start the story I better explain a little about the world of 12,000 years ago. Not how men were living in caves and finger-painting deer and bears on the walls, but rather how the map of the world was significantly different. You see, that time was at the height of the last great ice age. With so much water tied up in glaciers, the sea level was about 300 feet lower than it is today. One of the biggest impacts of this change was that a land bridge existed joining Spain and Morocco at the straits of Gibraltar which meant the Atlantic and the Mediterranean were completely separated. Now it turns out the Mediterranean doesn't have sufficient in-flow without the connection to the Atlantic to keep up with evaporation. Therefore by the time of this story, the water level in the Mediterranean was about 550 feet below the sea level of our times. The great Mediterranean Sea was reduced to a few large salt water lakes."  
  
"The Nile was about the same as today, except the delta area at the current mouth to the Med. didn't exist. Instead it dropped off this tall cliff. Think Niagara Falls, but with four times the volume and three times the height, it was magnificent. However while the river was much the same, the landscape it passed through was very different. What today is the Sahara Desert across Northern Africa, back then was fertile farmland, not unlike Kansas or Iowa. While it was the food basket of the region, most of the large cities were located on what is now the floor of the Mediterranean, just like the major cities of the 18th century were located on the major waterways like Chicago."  
  
At this point, Lex interjected, "So the civilization you were born in was wiped out without a trace by runaway nanobots and crushing glaciers. Then this civilization was wiped out by a great flood."  
  
"Great flood?" asked Lana. "Like Noah's Ark flood?"  
  
"How did this evolve into a story about Noah's Ark?" asked Chloe. "There isn't a flood in this story."  
  
"Well, you are talking about cities at the bottom of what is now the sea. I guess I was thinking about stories of Atlantis sinking to the bottom of sea," explained Lex. "I wasn't really thinking about Noah's Ark."  
  
"This story has nothing to do with Atlantis or Noah's Ark, it is about the Sphinx," responded Chloe. "But just to answer your questions so you can focus on MY story. The cities, countries, and civilizations in my story would evolve into Atlantis about four thousand years later. Atlantis would reign supreme for about 800 years before the melting glaciers would sink that civilization just like in the stories. Oh, and when the Atlantic final broke back through the land barrier at Gibraltar . . . Wow, the most unbelievable force of nature I have ever seen, it is impossible to describe a wall of water eight miles wide and hundreds of feet deep rushing through that gorge. You could hear the roar 100 miles away for over 20 years.  
  
"As for the Noah's Ark story, I am not sure. The Mediterranean Sea took close to 50 years to refill, so it does not match the biblical account very well. A more likely candidate for the Noah's Ark story is in the Black Sea. I wasn't in the area at the time, but from the stories of the few survivors that straggled out, it refilled about 100 years after the Mediterranean in a matter of days and there were major rains at the time. From what I could piece together over the years, the melting and retreating glaciers had left a sea's worth of water trapped behind a wall of ice in the Volga river valley area. My best estimate is that the heavy rains finally weakened the ice wall and about 175 miles of it collapse simultaneously. The resulting tsunami wiped out almost every thing in its path for hundreds of miles."  
  
Chloe looked at the others. "Any other historical questions you would like me to clear up now, or did you want to hear the story?"  
  
Lana spoke up for the others. "Sorry we distracted you. It's just so cool to know someone who has seen and done absolutely everything, ever." When she saw Chloe's smile, she continued, "I, for one, would love to hear your story now, since it seems we may have weeks of time before we can catch the professor and then get back to the portal. So I think there will be plenty of time later to ask any historical questions we may have."  
  
Lex nodded his head and Clark gave Chloe's arm a gentle squeeze.  
  
"Okay," said Chloe. "On with my story. I said the story starts 12309 years ago, but actually it is the culmination of a chain of events that started seven years earlier."  
  
"You see, seven years earlier was my 5000th birthday and I went a little overboard celebrating."  
  
Lex sprouted a big grin on his face. "What?" asked Chloe.  
  
"I have this reputation for partying from when I was about 17 and I was just trying to imagine what a person of 5000 would consider 'a little overboard'." answered Lex.  
  
"Hmmm, you have to understand Lex, in case you ever get married, a girl's 5000th birthday is a pretty big deal. I had been preparing for it, off and on, for several hundred years. I dipped into some of my emergency caches, that I keep scattered around the world, to fund the ultimate, year long festival. At the time I was running a small country, well more like a small province with only five modest towns and a castle on a hill. This was on a pleasant, out-of-the-way, little river feeding into the Caspian Sea in what is today, Azerbaijan.  
  
"So, with money no object, I brought in shipment after shipment of the best wines, perfumes, incenses, and fabrics. And the best singers, poets, artists, musicians, and dancers within two thousand miles. Can anyone guess what happened?" asked Chloe.  
  
Lana and Clark shook their heads while Lex gave a slow nod.  
  
Addressing herself towards Clark and Lana, Chloe tried a different tack. "Imagine for a moment that Smallville didn't have a Lex Luthor. Further imagine that the mayor of Smallville, who no one outside of Smallville has ever heard of before, threw a festival and the 100 top bands in the world all agreed to perform. And the top 10 Broadway shows all closed up for the season and moved to Smallville. And the 25 best, most expensive stand-up comedians all agreed to perform at the same time. What do you think would be on everyone's minds?"  
  
"I guess everyone would wonder who this mayor was and how he was paying for it," responded Clark.  
  
"Bingo," exclaimed Chloe. "We have a winner."  
  
"This event attracted way too much of the wrong kind of attention. Several groups decided there was a lot of easy money to be made in this obviously rich little country. Bottom-line, four months into the festival three separate armies marched into my country. Before it was all over most of the best performers in the world were dead, my country was devastated, and I was running for my life. The perfect end to my 5000th birthday," said Chloe with a sigh and a shake of her head.  
  
"That's so sad," said Lana. "What happened then?"  
  
"After running, and hiding, and living off the land for about six months, I made it to another of my estates, a pleasant seaside villa on what is now the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. Fortunately, back then the climate was much more mild than the current harsh, wind-swept desert."  
  
Lex looked across at Chloe. "So far you have told us you have estates here," and Lex gestured with his arm to indicate the current Roman year of 37 AD, "in at least Arelate, Rome, Egypt, Spain, and Greece." Chloe nodded. "And so far in your story you had at least two significant places plus these 'emergency caches'." Again Chloe nodded. "And I have been trying to estimate the modern day cost of this festival you were telling us about and the cost I come up with is in the range of the entire Luthor family fortune."  
  
"Is there a point to all of this, Lex?" asked Chloe.  
  
"I was just wondering how you ended up just a small town girl in Smallville?" continued Lex.  
  
"When did I say I was just a small town girl?" stated Chloe. "Just because I choose to have a modest lifestyle in Smallville doesn't mean I don't still have estates and 'emergency caches' scattered all over the world."  
  
The direction of this conversation finally dawned on Clark, who asked, "How rich are you?"  
  
"Now, Clark," began Chloe, "While I am sure you and Lex and probably even Lana are curious, that is hardly a polite question to ask. Let me answer it in a sort of round about way. My father, my real biological father, made sure as part of my nanobot gift that I clearly understood the importance of one concept - the principal of compound interest."  
  
For the moment Chloe dropped into teacher mode, which she had been on many occasions over her incredibly long life. "Let's say you have $1,000. If you earn a meager 3% interest, after 40 years it will grow to $3,262. Not real impressive, but this is the time span most people have to deal with during their working years. However I am able to work on an entirely different time scale. After 500 years that $1,000 grows to $2.6 Billion, which is a large amount, but only emphasizes how impressive a job Bill Gates has done to amass his incredible fortune in a mere 20 years."  
  
"Continuing, $1,000 at 3% and jumping from 500 years to 750 years grows to $4.2 trillion, which is in the range of the Gross National Product of the entire United States. After 750 years, the numbers start to become so large as to be meaningless and remember I have been around for over 17,000 years. Oh, countries fall and you lose all of your money there, so you learn to spread it all over the world. Every few thousand years most of civilization collapses due to disease, or glaciers, or whatever; and you learn to stash away hard assets like gold and jewels."  
  
"Hopefully that more or less answers your question. Could I throw the modern day equivalent of my 5,000th birthday bash? Sure, but I don't want the modern day equivalent of three invading armies destroying my life and friends, so I just maintain a lower profile."  
  
Chloe thought that was enough on that topic, but before she could steer the conversation back to the Sphinx story, Lex jumped in with a final question.  
  
"But Chloe, there have never been banks in continuous operation of that long of time periods, to maintain that growth in a purely business environment . . . after the business size exceeded some threshold, it would take incredible computer systems to manage the business and continue the growth. Oh, right . . ." Lex trailed off.  
  
The others looked from Lex to Chloe. Finally, Chloe spoke up. "Lex just realized that my nanobot network made me the most powerful computer system on the planet, still am for that matter, even in modern day Smallville. Plus, I never need paper records or hordes of accountants. See Lex, the secret is to grow your business as large as is practical for that time period; then liquidate the business turning 95% of it to gold, which you stash away for the future or an emergency and use the remaining 5% to start the whole business cycle over again."  
  
"I remember reading an article in some magazine, Forbes or Fortune, I think, about the history of Gold," said Lex. "The things that stuck in my mind were that all the gold mined in the last 5000 years would fill a football field 10 feet deep. The other thing was that all the gold in central banks, like Fort Knox, plus all the gold estimated to be in jewelry in public hands only accounted for about one half of the total. For a substance that doesn't corrode away, that always seemed like a lot to have been lost."  
  
"Well," said Chloe with a big smile. "As I said, I have always been really good at stashing it away for emergencies."  
  
"Now," said Chloe with a tone that implied this whole subject area was closed. "Do you want to hear the story of the Sphinx or would you rather spend the afternoon discussing Economics 101?"  
  
Lex realized the subject was closed for now, but he dearly wanted to choose Chloe's version of Economics 101. She must know of so many business methods that would impress his father. Wow, was impressing his father really important to him? It was amazing how every day since coming through the Portal he had had to keep revising his opinion of Chloe higher and higher. From wishing to hire her someday when she was out of college, to now wishing he could spend a few years working for and learning from her. But that was a subject to be broached another day, for now he yielded to the obvious and said, "Chloe, I think the Sphinx story would be nice about now. Hopefully, you won't mind if I drift off occasionally and think about this conversation."  
  
"Okay, then on to how mine was the original face on the Sphinx." Said Chloe.  
  
End Chapter 13 


	14. Portal Chapter 14

The Portal  
  
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.  
  
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
  
"Before I start the story," began Chloe. "I am going to Americanized the names and such. Since Clark and Lana are busy learning a bunch of new Latin words, there is no point confusing things with a lot words in a couple more long dead languages."  
  
"This story starts on a pleasant spring day when my best friend, Gwendolyn, and I were traveling by caravan to Angel's Keep. I suppose I should start by telling you a little about Gwen. Remember how after my 5000th birthday debacle I made my way to my villa on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula? Gwen's father had been managing that estate for me for the past 20 years. Actually, as I frequently arranged, the manager position for that estate was a hereditary one and Gwen's family had been running it for seven or eight generations. This provided much needed stability and continuity while I moved around steadily to conceal the fact that I didn't grow old.  
  
"When I arrived at the estate this time, after an absence of nearly forty years, Gwen had just turned 13 and was starting to bloom into a beautiful young woman. Tall and willowy, she had wavy, almost black hair and the most piercing, pale green eyes. I guess if you need someone to complete the mental image of her, think a very, very young Carrie-Anne Moss.  
  
"Over the next few years we became the best of friends, doing all of the things girls growing up together do and more. Talking about boys. Flirting with boys. Dancing with boys. Making out with boys. Well, you get the common theme.  
  
"Mostly, I was trying to get over the mess I had created with the big party. After living for 5000 years I had long since accept that I frequently had to move on and leave friends behind or watch them grow old and die while I remained young. But rarely had my actions directly resulted in the deaths of so many I cared for. For the first couple of years I seemed to be continually in this sad, melancholy mood. Eventually it was Gwen who pulled me out of my funk and got me looking forward again.  
  
"My villa was on the edge of the town of South Harbour. A town of about 30,000, it was situated at the mouth of one of the major rivers in southern Arabia and had the best harbor for a hundred miles in either direction. My financial interests there were primarily in shipping, both oceanic shipping, as this was a popular transfer point between India and the Mediterranean, and river shipping to the cities located further upriver. It was a bustling little town, but the 'artsy' entertainment was very limited.  
  
"Therefore for Gwen's 20th birthday, I decided we would make a pilgrimage to Angel's Keep, one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the Mediterranean. Every ten years it hosted a major art festival with lots of plays and musicals, this just happen to be the right year. Gwen had never been to such a grand city and was both nervous and excited. I was just very happy to do this with my best friend.  
  
"The journey would take about two months with the first portion by ship across the Red Sea to what is now the southeast corner of Egypt. From there we traveled overland by caravan to the Nile. At the Nile we boarded another ship and traveled north, downstream to Golden Hope, the northernmost major Nile City about 30 miles before the great falls. Since Golden Hope was the first true city we visited after setting out from South Harbour, we spent several weeks there shopping, taking in the local arts, and just getting acclimated to big city life. With a population of 200,000 it was still almost a burg compared to the 1.5 million of Angel's Keep, but it seemed like paradise compared to the backwater town of South Harbour.  
  
"Finally, it was time to move on towards Angel's Keep, if we were to arrive in time for the best parties and balls. I had a really grand palace in Angel's Keep that I hadn't visited in a number of years. I had not mentioned it to Gwen, as I wanted it to be a big surprise.  
  
"From Golden Hope the best route to Angel's Keep was due west through the highlands for 300 miles before turning north and dropping into the Mediterranean basin for the last 50 miles. This was a regular caravan route with large parties setting out about every two weeks. At that time it was advisable to travel with a large caravan as the political squabbles between Angel's Keep and the other great southeastern Mediterranean City, Lion's Roar, had recently heated up. Lion's Roar was located barely 40 miles from Golden Hope, as the crow flies, but it was below the great falls which required traveling 100 miles either east or west to find an easy route down into the basin.  
  
"Gwen and I hooked up with a caravan that was setting out to Angel's Keep. I had acquired a luxury land barge for the journey. At nine feet wide and eighteen feet long, it was pulled by a team of eight great oxen. It had a tall canopy top and shear gauzy curtains for side walls that kept out the dust during the day and insects at night. The interior was fitted out with one of the most comfortable feather beds I have ever experienced. The hours Gwen and I spent in that bed were like heaven."  
  
Lex, who had been nearly drowsing from the hard horseback ride in the morning, suddenly came more awake. Was Chloe's story going to be some kind of kinky lesbian adventure?  
  
Chloe continued, "I had another wagon following with six servants to take care of the cooking and all of our other needs. This trip was turning into the ultimate hedonistic lifestyle.  
  
"We had been on the road from Golden Hope for about a week when this story really starts. It was mid-morning and the caravan had been on the move for about five hours. However Gwen and I were still lounging around in the bed. For late spring the weather had been unusually hot. Many days we spent the heat of day in bed wearing nothing or only the sheerest of satin. This morning I had my flute out and we were working on composing a new sonnet. Gwen had incredible talent with words, but always claimed to be most inspired when I played my flute. We had been at work for several hours . . . perhaps work is an exaggeration since we took frequent breaks for touching and kissing . . . when Andrew, my chief servant, rapped on the side of the wagon to get our attention.  
  
"'Miss Chloe,' he began. 'There is a large party of armed men approaching from the north.'"  
  
"Gwen and I pulled aside the curtain and looked out at the group of men. They were still a good mile away, but I could tell from the tight formation in which they rode that this was a true military force and not some local band of cutthroats and thieves. They numbered about 100 men which was roughly equal to the men of our caravan, but with little more than a glance I could see that the men of the caravan wouldn't survive long, if it came to a battle."  
  
"Still I wasn't too concerned. Usually, an armed force like this would extract a tariff from the caravan and after a couple of hours we would be on our way. So I returned to my flute and Gwen went back to her sonnet.  
  
"About ten minutes later I realized I was hearing war-cries and before I even reacted, arrows started raining down on our wagon. Unfortunately, one of the very first arrows caught Gwen through the shoulder and she went down with a scream.  
  
"I rushed over to her, jerked out the arrow, and created a pressure bandage from some of the bed linens. By this time some of the arrows coming down were tipped with fire and it was obvious everything in the caravan was going to be destroyed.  
  
"Once I was certain Gwen's bleeding was under control, I hurriedly grabbed my flute and then dragged Gwen out of the burning wagon. So there we were, two naked girls - one hurt - crouched next to a rapidly burning wagon in the middle of a battle. And the battle was going badly for the men of the caravan with many hurt or dead.  
  
"I was still deeply bothered from seeing so many of my friends killed at my big birthday bash and it looked like Gwen would soon be killed or worst. Anyway something snapped and I allowed myself to go into full combat mode, which I hadn't done in at least a thousand years.  
  
"With the fire at our back, I stood between Gwen and the attackers and used the flute to deflect the incoming arrows. As the caravan slowly died, more and more of the attackers were focusing on me. Soon the speed at which I was moving the flute from hand to hand was causing it to whistle out this strange melody. Eventually, I was spinning it like the baton of some demented cheerleader and the ground around me seemed to be ankle deep with broken and deflected arrows.  
  
"Finally, I screamed 'STOP' at the top of my lungs and the enemy leader told his men to stand down. One final man let loose with an arrow, but I merely reached up and plucked it out of the air with my left hand and then dropped it to the ground.  
  
"Now in those days I happened to wear my hair a lot longer than I do today. With all of the exertion it had billowed out into a large golden mane. So there I stood, naked except for a big mass of hair; holding my flute like a weapon while surrounded by a field of spent arrows, dead or dying men, and burning wagons. A large mass of horsemen were staring incredulously at me for the unbelievable martial exhibition I had just put on, when suddenly one of the troops shouts, 'My god, she is the Lioness.'  
  
"Suddenly, a lot of the soldiers were jumping down from their horses and going into full recline, even pressing their foreheads to the earth.  
  
"At this point even the officers dismounted and one of them says to the leader, 'If she is truly the Lioness, the legend says she will beat the champion in single combat.'  
  
"The leader was this big hulking brute, at least 6'3" and 270 pounds - all of it muscle. He wore armored chest and back plates and metal guards on his shins and forearms. Between the bits of metal numerous scars showed through indicating he had seen more than his fair share of combat in his life. He was armed to the teeth with a long curved sword on his left hip, a large hunting knife on his right hip, and a small throwing knife strapped to each calf.  
  
"And I had my flute.  
  
"After looking me over for a couple of minutes, he finally said, 'If the legend says she must meet the champion in combat, so be it.' Then he pulled out his sword and took several swings to warm up his arm.  
  
"By now, all of the soldiers who had bowed down before me were sitting back on their haunches waiting to see what would happen.  
  
"I didn't know anything about this legendary Lioness they were talking about, but playing that part seemed like the best way to get Gwen and myself out of this mess. With the hardest, coldest voice I could muster, I pointed to Gwen and said, 'SHE IS MINE.' Then I gave a very, very small nod of my head towards the leader and dropped into a martial arts stance with my weight back on my bent right leg, my left leg and arm forward for balance, and the flute held back above my head in my right hand. I crouched a little lower than was optimal to make me look even smaller and have him feel even more overconfident.  
  
"He was big and strong, but my size gave me a significant speed advantage. Plus just as my 'bot processor network gives me the perfect timing to catch or deflect arrows, it gives me perfect timing for one-on-one combat and generally can predict my opponent's moves three or four steps ahead just like in a game of chess.  
  
"The leader came at me with a wild 'let's end this in one blow' swing of his sword. I rolled under the swing and then kicked my right foot into his balls as hard as I could before continuing the roll. Hey, anything is fair in 'love or war' as the old saying goes. As I completed my roll he had turned away grabbing his crotch and bending over slightly. Therefore my roll left me on my back directly behind him. I pulled my knees up to my chest and then thrust my feet into his ass, hard. He went sprawling to the ground about 10 feet away.  
  
"I have to give him credit, in less than 10 seconds he was back on the attack and only slightly slowed down. And this time he was taking the fight seriously. Or the strike to his family jewels had seriously pissed him off.  
  
"He came at me with a simple combination of slash from right to left, slash from left to right, thrust towards my abdomen, and then repeat. The blade of his sword was 30" long and slightly curved at the end. This blade was designed for use on horseback and was longer than optimum for fighting on foot. The blade was a little over an inch wide and as long as I only contacted the side of the blade I could deflect it with my hand or the flute without cutting myself or breaking the flute.  
  
"Unfortunately, against such a large, tall opponent neither my hands, feet or the flute made good offensive weapons since the only kill-blows with them are crushing the windpipe or driving the nose cartilage into the brain. Therefore I needed to acquire a better weapon. Fortunately, my opponent was carrying several perfectly good weapons he wasn't using, so I just needed to get one of his knifes.  
  
"I deflected several more of his sword thrusts with the side of my hand before I achieved the positioning I needed. He made a slashing cut downward from left to right, which I just deflected with my flute, when I appeared to lose my footing and slipped forward. His sword was out of position as I was too close to his body. My head was falling towards his left knee, so he smashed his knee up into my jaw and everyone heard the loud snap as my jaw broke and then I went flying back. What no one noticed was that I pulled his throwing knife from his left calf scabbard just before his knee contacted my jaw.  
  
"Of course, when I flew backwards and slammed into the ground everyone assumed I was already dead or unconscious.  
  
"The leader slowly walked over and stood astride my limp body to deliver the final killing blow. He raised his sword above his head for a mighty downward stroke. Just as he had the sword fully extended, I took the knife I had palmed and thrust it into his abdomen and ripped it across with the same motion a Japanese samurai uses to commit seppuku.  
  
"The swordsman got this shocked look on his face as the sword slipped from his grasp and fall to the ground behind him. He wavered for several seconds before falling to his side, dead.  
  
"As he started to fall, I rolled to the other side and stood up. Fortunately, my 'bot network had shutdown my pain receptors before his knee ever contacted my jaw, and the repair 'bots were 90% complete with fixing the broken jaw and the couple of loosened teeth.  
  
"A little blood was on my chin from a split lip, but once I was sure all of the eyes were on me I covered this by making a show licking a little of my opponent's blood off of the blade of the knife. Standing there naked, having just taken down one of their largest men without appearing to have been seriously hurt or even breathing hard, I stared at the remaining officers for a minute. Finally, I said, "Does that fulfill the prophecy or does another one of you want to try me?'"  
  
"With hardly a pause, all of the officers fell to their knees. The next ranking officer spoke, 'Forgive us, Lioness. We didn't expect the prophecy to come true today. Let these, your unworthy servants, escort you to Lion's Roar where proper tribute can be paid to you.'"  
  
"I probably couldn't have walked away, even if I had wanted to. But I was still very angry towards them for hurting Gwen and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. Talking to the leaders of Lion's Roar was the only approach I saw.  
  
"Therefore, I looked down to where they were kneeling and said, 'Arise, you and your men are now the personal guard of Chloe, the Lioness. You will swear an oath to serve me against all of my enemies. Then you will find appropriate transportation to Lion's Roar for myself and my handmaiden.'  
  
"After the men had sworn an oath to me and started to make ready for our departure, I walked over to Gwen. I knelt down beside her, asking, 'Are you okay?'  
  
"She nodded her head. 'Where did you learn to fight like that?' she asked. 'I have never heard of anyone able to deflect arrows the way you did and then the way you handled that giant. . .' She just petered out and seemed to have a mild case of shock, although whether from witnessing the battle or from blood loss, I was not yet sure.  
  
"I helped her to her feet and then wrapped my arms around her. After a gentle kiss, I pulled my head back a little and said softly, 'There is a lot I need to explain when we have some time alone. Until then you need to trust me to take care of things. Can you do that?' After she nodded her head, I smiled. "Good. Let's go find some clothes and take a look at your wound.'  
  
"With my arm still wrapped around her, we set out to see what had survived the fires."  
  
At this point Clark's stomach began to rumble and Chloe realized that most of the afternoon had gone by and this story was a long way from being finished.  
  
Chloe sat up from where she had been leaning against Clark. "This is a good point to pause the story. Let's go get some food, see where Nicholas is, and if he has found us a place to stay tonight."  
  
After Chloe stood up she reached her hand down to help Lana up. As Lana stood she grimaced. "I am already hurting from this mornings horseback ride. I am dreading tomorrow when the stiffness sets in."  
  
As Lex stood he moaned. "Right now I am wishing I had your 'bots, Chloe. It must be wonderful to never be sore or tired."  
  
Chloe smiled politely. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do in that area, but I have heard that a long, hot soak at the baths does wonders."  
  
As they started to move back towards Narbo, Lex looked over towards Chloe. "If you don't mind, just a few questions?"  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes, "Sure, Lex."  
  
End of Chapter 14 


	15. Portal Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
  
"Can you really do that?" asked Lex.  
  
"Do want?" responded Chloe.  
  
"You know, that whole catching arrows trick." Of course, Lex, being a typical guy, really wanted to ask about Chloe's relationship with Gwen. She was just an endless stream of surprises.  
  
"Yes, I really can, if I see it coming from far enough away. I mean my arm can't move much faster than everyone else's. My 'bots just optimize my timing. Arrows are relatively easy. Crossbow bolts are much smaller and faster, right at the edge of my abilities. But catching bullets, way out of my league." This last was said with a quick glance at Clark. Lex wondered why catching bullets warranted a look towards Clark. Ever since Clark and Chloe had been alone in that massage room at the baths there had been several cryptic comments and odd glances. And they didn't strike Lex as being related to love or sex. No, either Chloe had confided some additional secrets with Clark she chose not to share with Lex and Lana or Clark had confided some secret with her. The more Lex thought about it, the more likely the second option seemed. Ever since the accident at the bridge, when Lex first met Clark, he had suspected Clark was concealing something. Perhaps if he keep a close eye on the interplay between the two, he might learn a critical clue.  
  
"Of course," Chloe continued. "Having perfect timing means I can always get a job with the circus."  
  
Lex gave her a surprised look at this non sequitur.  
  
"I am a world class juggler. Nine balls in the air at one time. However I do draw the line at juggling chainsaws."  
  
Everyone had a quick laugh.  
  
They had been walking towards the center of Narbo looking for Nicholas when suddenly he came running up to them out of breathe.  
  
"LCoelia," he panted. "LA large group of Carius' men must have followed us from Tolosa. They reached town a short while ago and are busy searching for Lex and Clark."  
  
"LHow many?" Chloe asked as she started to herd everyone towards a side street so they would be less visible.  
  
"LAbout thirty. They started searching the taverns and inns at the center of town. They are working their way in this direction and I expect they will be here in 15-20 minutes," answered Nicholas.  
  
"LWere you able to arrange a coach for tomorrow?"  
  
"LYes, the stable up on the main road has several available."  
  
"LCan you get us there, now, without running into any of Carius' men? I think we need to move up our schedule and head to Arelate this evening, rather than in the morning," stated Chloe.  
  
Nicholas thought for a moment. "LYes, however it is rare for coaches to leave at this time of day. If his men see us, they will have no trouble overtaking us on horseback."  
  
Hmm, thought Chloe, looks like we are going to need a diversion.  
  
Chloe turned to Clark and Lana and explained the situation to them. "So, let's make for the stable while I think about a diversion. Nicholas will lead the way. Clark, keep an eye out behind us so we aren't surprised."  
  
Clark got the message and immediately took a quick scan of the area with his x-ray vision.  
  
As they started down the side street Lana leaned close into Chloe and whisper, "No one may have said it in all of the excitement, but I was really enjoying your story and hope you can continue it soon. Your life is just so exciting."  
  
Chloe whispered back. "Don't let the past couple of days or my story fool you. Most of my life has been ordinary, just like life in Smallville, well pre-meteor rock freakiness Smallville, if you understand what I mean. And that's the way I prefer it. I am just as anxious to get back home as everyone else."  
  
The late afternoon sun moved behind some heavy clouds rolling in from the west. The beautiful, clear skies they had enjoyed since their arrival in ancient Gaul were departing. Unconsciously, Chloe had been noticing the subtle signs all afternoon. Now she just hoped the storm she felt brewing would hold off until they reached Arelate and its relative safety.  
  
The gathering gloom matched the group's mood. They thought they were clear of Carius' men after leaving Tolosa, at least until they caught up to the man himself.  
  
Hurrying down side streets they steered well clear of the center of town. Narbo had been a major port in the western Mediterranean for the Roman Empire for many years. The Romans had founded it about 150 years earlier.  
  
Like many towns founded by the Romans in the provinces, it was originally a 'veterans' town. The Roman pattern was to establish a new army with a core of experienced officers, but filling the ranks with young, raw recruits. These armies trained and worked as a team with very few transfers between armies except at the highest levels. After twenty years the army was retired as a group. Generally, the former army was given an area in one of the provinces to take over and was given help in setting up a city. This method had several benefits for Rome. It gave them a core of trained, experienced, loyal men in the early years to ensure the Romanization of the area. It also kept the large groups, who had spent most of their adult lives fighting in the distant reaches of the empire, from returning to Rome and Italy to cause problems.  
  
The leaders of Rome, both during the Republican era and under the current emperors, had long feared the overthrow of the government by some general and his army, which had served him for so many years. In fact, the leaders were so fearful of this event that Roman armies had been banned from entering Rome for many years, leaving the Praetorian Guard as the only significant armed force in Rome.  
  
Narbo had long since outgrown both its status as a 'veterans' town and the original walls that protected the port area and the center of town. By skirting these original walls, the group hoped to avoid detection as they made their way to the stables up on the main road.  
  
The stables were a very large complex since Narbo, as well as being a major port, was one of the key junctions for the Roman road system in southern Gaul with major roads headed east to Arelate, southwest towards Spain, and northwest to Tolosa. The stables had facilities to handle eight hundred horses plus several hundred draft oxen, therefore even this close to evening they had a fair amount of activity.  
  
Nicholas led them into the administrative office where several clerks were working. Fortunately, the clerk he had dealt with several hours earlier was still on duty. When he explained their need to leave now and their willingness to pay a premium the clerk was happy to make the arrangements. After the clerk related it would be ready in 30 minutes, Chloe jumped in and stated they would need a couple of saddle horses as well. When the clerk nodded and left to make the arrangements both Nicholas and Lex looked expectantly at her.  
  
Chloe held up a finger to Nicholas telling him to wait and then turned to the others and spoke in English. "We need a diversion so these guys don't follow us any further. I have an idea in mind and need Clark's help. When the coach is ready, Lex and Lana, you should set off with Nicholas in the coach and we will catch up on horseback."  
  
Clark shook his head. "Are you certain splitting up is a good idea? Plus you said last night that Nicholas used to work for Carius. Are you certain we can trust him?"  
  
Lex nodded. "Somehow the word 'diversion' just sounds risky. I think I should help you instead of Clark."  
  
Chloe answered. "After creating the diversion we will need to move fast which is why the group needs to kept small and the coach needs a head start. I don't like it anymore than you do, but it seems like we have to break into two teams briefly. Since you and I are the only ones who speak Latin, Lex, we need to be on separate teams. To create the diversion I need to take either Clark or Lana. Therefore Clark and I will create the diversion and Lex and Lana will set off in the coach with Nicholas."  
  
Chloe turned to Clark. "I think we can trust Nicholas. To him, Professor Carey is just some Roman nobleman who happens to have some business interests in Tolosa. However with my connection to the Governor, he knows that if he double-crosses us, he will never be able to set foot in Gaul again."  
  
None of the others looked too happy with Chloe's plan, but since none of them had a better option eventually they all nodded their agreement.  
  
Chloe turned back to Nicholas. "LI need you to keep the Princess safe. When the coach is ready, you, Lex, and Lana set off towards Arelate while Clark and I create a diversion to keep Carius' men from following. We will catch up with you on horseback. Hmm . . . remember the deep river gorge the road crosses about 5 miles east of here and then the clearing about a mile past there?" Nicholas nodded. "LWait for us in the clearing. We shouldn't be more than a few minutes behind you."  
  
As Chloe turned to leave the room, Lana ran up and gave her a hug.  
  
"Be careful and watch over Clark" Lana whispered.  
  
Chloe whispered back. "Careful is my middle name. How else do you think I made it this long?"  
  
After stepping back from Chloe, Lana turned to Clark and gave him a hug, a quick kiss on the cheek, and the same message to be careful.  
  
Clark just nodded and walked over to Lex. Clark pulled off his backpack, set it on floor, leaned over to Lex and murmured. "Hold on to the gold, in case we get separated. If necessary, I am certain Chloe can improvise something for us."  
  
Lex nodded and then Clark turned and headed towards the door. With a wave he said, "We will see you soon."  
  
As soon as they were out of earshot of the others Clark turned to Chloe. "I really don't like this whole splitting up plan. Particularly since it feels like we are leaving the others totally defenseless."  
  
"I agree, Clark. However I needed us free to act without giving away your secrets. Plus, I plan for us to stick close by the others until they are well clear of the town. There is a deep river gorge about five miles east of here. The Romans built one of their famous, arched stone bridges, about sixty feet long, to cross it. I told Nicholas to wait for us in a clearing about a mile past the bridge. Do you think you can make the bridge impassable? If the bridge is out, it will take any pursuers 5-6 hours to bypass the bridge, which will give us plenty of time to reach Arelate first."  
  
Clark felt this large wave of relief. "I feel much better knowing we are going to stick close by the others. I thought you were going to have us go into town to confront these guys."  
  
"That was my first thought until I remembered the bridge. But I prefer to avoid confrontation as much as possible." As they exited the building, Chloe headed them towards a small group of trees across the main road from the entrance to the stable complex.  
  
As soon as they were under cover Chloe continued. "If I was leading Carius' men, I would assume we might try to make a break for it and would have stationed at least a couple of men to cover these stables. Can you see anything, Clark?"  
  
Clark scanned the stable complex with his x-ray vision and described what he saw to Chloe. Finally, he said. "Wait, down at the very eastern end of the complex I can see two men armed with swords crouching behind the last building and there are a couple of horses hobbled right behind them."  
  
Chloe nodded. "I'd bet money they are part of Carius' men. Clark can you knock one out and bring the other back so I can ask him a few questions."  
  
Clark smiled. "Count to five and I will be back."  
  
Before the last word was barely out of his mouth, he blurred and was gone.  
  
Just for the hell of it, Chloe started to count out loud. "One . . . Two . . . Three . . . Four." And that's all the further she got when a blindfolded man suddenly appeared, laying on the ground in front of her. Clark was kneeling astride him with a sword point at the man's throat.  
  
Chloe felt a really strong urge to giggle, but forced it down. Instead she said. "Thanks, Clark. Keep an eye on Lex and Lana while I have a chat with this gentleman."  
  
Clark nodded, but kept the sword point pressed against the man's throat.  
  
Chloe pulled up the blindfold. "LAre you one of Carius' men?"  
  
The man did not respond, however she could see the fear and confusion in his eyes.  
  
Chloe tried again. "LIf you tell me the truth, I will let you live. If not, I will have my friend press a little harder with that sword and then we will see if your companion is more interested in living." Chloe hated to have to revert to these kinds of methods, but she needed to work fast. She was just glad Clark didn't have the Latin skills yet to follow the conversation. She hoped they could get through this adventure with Clark's idealistic views of good and evil intact.  
  
At this point the man Clark was holding down decided that he wasn't getting paid enough to die and started to talk. "LYes, I work for Carius."  
  
"LHow many men are watching the stables?"  
  
"LThere were four of us, but when we saw your group enter the stables two went to round up the others."  
  
"Damn," said Chloe. Clark, who had been watching the room Lex and Lana were in with his x-ray vision, glanced over to her. Chloe continued. "We were spotted arriving here and the Professor's other men have been sent for. If the coach isn't ready soon, we may have to do a real diversion."  
  
Clark nodded and Chloe turned back to their prisoner. "LHow many men do you have here in Narbo?"  
  
"L Thirty seven. Three squads of twelve plus Gaius commanding."  
  
"LI want you to give Gaius a message for me. If he can contact Carius, tell him that Lex has some very powerful allies here. If he returns the item we need, things will go easy for him. If we have to track him down and take it, he will wish he had never heard of the Roman Empire."  
  
With that Chloe pulled the blindfold back down and turned to Clark. "How are things with Lex and Lana?"  
  
"They are still in that room and I can see the carriage starting to move towards the front of the complex."  
  
"Good, can you gag and bind this guy and return him where you found him? I gave him a message to pass along to his superiors."  
  
"Sure, I'll be right back." Then Clark and the prisoner disappear as quickly as they had appeared. Chloe marveled at how much easier things could be handled when you had Clark's abilities at your disposal.  
  
In a few seconds Clark was back, crouched down beside her. As he checked in on Lex and Lana again, he asked something that had been bothering him since they had to separate from Lex and Lana, "Do you think I should tell the others about my abilities? It would make all this sneaking around less necessary."  
  
Chloe thought about it for a minute before responding. "Sure, Clark, it would make some things easier. I mean, I ask you if you see any of Carius' men around and 'Boom' fifteen seconds later you have spotted them hiding behind a building over 200 yards away. Then I ask you to take care of those guys and 'Boom' it's done. If I didn't know about your abilities I wouldn't know about these options.  
  
"Clark, you and I both have some pretty unique abilities. And by sharing our knowledge we are more than the sum of our parts. So, yes there are definite advantages."  
  
Chloe continued, "But being open and honest can be pretty scary, too. If we hadn't run into Marcus and if he hadn't blown my cover, I don't think I would have divulged my past, even though letting out my secret has made the past couple of days easier for all of us."  
  
Chloe reached her hand over and caress the back of Clark's neck. "It is not an easy decision, but it has to be your decision to make. I will support whatever you decide."  
  
Clark just nodded. He had always been afraid of his friend's reaction if he ever told his secret, but Lex and Lana appeared to accept Chloe without any problems. And Chloe was almost more alien than he was. Forever 16, instant healing, over 17,000 years old, computer enhanced brain. If they could accept Chloe, they could probably accept him too.  
  
If they were stranded back here permanently, there was no question that he would share his secret with the others, but there were still implications to consider, if, no, when they got back home. Perhaps just sharing his secret with Chloe was sufficient to get them back home safely.  
  
As these thoughts were going round and round in his head the coach pulled up in front of the administrative building and Lex, Lana, and Nicholas climbed aboard. Time to postpone the decision until later and focus on the current situation.  
  
As soon as the coach had pulled out on to the main road and turned east towards Arelate, Chloe and Clark darted out of the sheltering trees and ran back to the administrative office of the stable. While Clark kept watch out front, Chloe hurried to inquire about their saddle horses. Using her most commanding tone, acquired over millennia spent in charge of a variety of estates, provinces, kingdoms, and empires, Chloe quickly had a number of clerks and groomsmen scurrying about to get her speedily on her way and out of their lives. In less than five minutes two beautiful horses were saddled and run out to where Clark waited.  
  
"Come on," said Chloe as she jumped into her saddle. "Let's getting going before the carriage opens up too large of a lead."  
  
Clark grabbed his reins from the groom and handed them to Chloe. "You lead my horse until it's time to join the others. I would rather just run."  
  
Chloe just nodded and kicked her horse into a gallop. The two grooms standing there turned curiously towards Clark. He returned their look, then feigning a surprised looked he pointed abruptly back past them. As they turned to see what he had pointed at, he blurred and was gone.  
  
It was a matter of a couple of seconds to catch and pass Chloe. Clark continued on at superspeed until he could see the carriage rounding a bend and passing out of sight a half-mile ahead. Pausing to let Chloe catch up, Clark did a quick 360-degree scan of the surrounding area. From the small rise where he had stopped he could see all of the way down to the center of Narbo. Just as Chloe pulled up he spotted the large group of men on horseback headed their way.  
  
As Clark continued to stare towards town, Chloe asked. "What is it?"  
  
"There are 25 to 30 men on horseback headed in this general direction from town," Clark began. Sighing and shaking his head, he continued. "They just bypassed the turn to the stables and are headed on a diagonal to meet the road a mile or two east of here. They must have spotted the carriage."  
  
By now Chloe had spotted them also. "I don't think the carriage is going to make the bridge ahead of them, let alone the clearing beyond and leave us time to destroy the bridge. It looks like a more interactive diversion is going to be required."  
  
Clark nodded as Chloe turned her horse onto an intercept course with the oncoming horsemen.  
  
Running along side her mount, Clark suggested, "Maybe a demonstration of our mystical powers will scare them away. Plus if word of it gets back to the Professor along with the other message you left with that guy back at the stable, well . . . perhaps we can shake his confidence a little."  
  
Chloe glanced down towards Clark realizing it was usually he looking down towards her. "What mystical powers?" she asked.  
  
Clark looked up, grinned, and started to explain his idea.  
  
End of Chapter 15 


	16. Portal Chapter 16

Chapter 16  
  
Clark and Chloe waited for Gaius and his men at the top of a small rise. The way past them to the road was a wide, open meadow, but thick trees on both sides prevented Gaius from easily diverting any of his men to an alternate route.  
  
Clark had made a few, quick preparations, but now he just waited with a sense of anticipation. All of his life in Smallville he had had to hide his true abilities. No starring on the football team and scoring ten touchdowns per game. No starring on the track team and breaking all of the world records. No sports period, just good, old Clark, the farm boy. But like a typical teenage boy, he had always fantasized about strutting his stuff. Of course, in the best 'Wall of the Weird' tradition he wasn't strutting his stuff for his girl on the sporting field. No, he was going up against 30 men on horseback armed with swords, spears, and arrows. Boy, there were times he wished he was just a normal guy like Whitney.  
  
Chloe sat astride her horse waiting for Gaius and his men to draw a little closer. She tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. She had seen Clark's superspeed abilities and had heard him tell of his amazing strength, but going up against thirty men by himself still left her a little nervous. If Clark got in over his head, would she be able to get them clear?  
  
Finally, the approaching men were about 100 feet away when Chloe shouted out. "LStop or feel my wrath."  
  
Gaius and his men approached a little closer before reigning up. Looking up the hill in the fading light, he saw a young woman on horseback and a man standing a few feet away. "LWho are you?" he called out. "And what do you want?"  
  
"LI am Chloe and I protect the one you seek," she responded.  
  
"LThere are 30 of us and only two of you. I have no quarrel with you. Stand aside and let us pass."  
  
Chloe shook her head. "LI am a powerful Druid witch and this warrior is under my enchantment. You can not defeat him. Get word to Carius to return the magical stones and I will leave him and you in peace. If we are forced to take the stones it will go hard on you."  
  
Gaius turned to several of his men with bows and told them to eliminate the obstacle.  
  
Five men quickly strung their bows and let loose a volley of arrows. Two of the arrows arched up on a trajectory towards Chloe. When they reached her, she calmly plucked them out of the air, one with each hand. The other three arrows were targeted on Clark. One was a clean miss, but the other two hit their mark. Clark didn't bother to catch them like Chloe, but just let them bounce off of his body.  
  
Chloe waved the arrows in her hands to get Gaius' attention back on her. "My magic is stronger than mere arrows. Surrender NOW!" Then Chloe threw the arrows to the ground in a sign of contempt.  
  
As Clark started to walk towards the horsemen, Gaius was momentarily stunned by the ineffectiveness of the arrows. Did the arrows really bounce off that man as it had appeared? However he quickly recovered and ordered six of his men to dismount and take the apparently unarmed man with their swords. Hopefully they would discover some answers to the puzzling developments.  
  
The six men quickly jumped down from their horses and approached Clark. Drawing their swords, the first man motioned for Clark to kneel down and surrender. Clark stopped about ten feet from him, crossed his arms, and shook his head no. Understanding the instructions from Gaius, the first man tried to disable Clark with a strike at his thigh - Take him down, but leave him able to talk.  
  
The swordsman used a stabbing strike to the thigh, but it was like hitting a solid chunk of granite. The point struck Clark's leg and then skittered off to the side without leaving so much as a mark. Clark took a half step forward and hit the man with a right cross and then before he slipped to the ground, Clark stripped the sword from his hand.  
  
Clark selected a large tree about 30 yards off to the right. He threw the sword with all of his strength at the juncture of a large branch with the trunk about 15 feet up. The sword hit with a mighty crack and the branch exploded away from the tree and crashed to the ground. The sword continued on its trajectory without any noticeable decrease in speed until it hit another smaller tree forty feet beyond, splitting it down the center. The two halves slowly tore apart and collapsed to the ground.  
  
After the remaining men on foot got over the shock of this display, they turned back to see Clark waiting with a 'Who's Next?' expression on his face. The next two men jumped quickly into the attack. One came in high from the left and one low from the right. At the last second Clark reached out and grabbed a sword blade in each hand. He tightened his grip until his fingers crushed grooves in the soft iron and then he gave a sharp jerk. The two opponents were thrown to the ground before they lost their grips on the hilts. Clark rapped the men sharply on the skull before tossing these swords away in opposite directions. This time he aimed high and the swords streaked away from his hands with a loud whistling sound. They quickly passed over the nearest trees and were still climbing when they were lost from sight in the gathering twilight.  
  
The remaining three swordsmen on foot swung around to take Clark in a combined frontal assault. However before they had taken a single complete step Clark shifted to superspeed mode. He gave each man a quick tap and then grabbed his sword. One instant the men on horseback were watching their comrades approach this stranger and the next the three were slumping to the ground and the stranger was juggling the three swords. It might not be nine balls or chainsaws, but Clark had some juggling skills, too. After holding their attention for a few seconds, Clark threw these swords at a large rock outcropping on the edge of the meadow. They struck one after the other with a metallic clang and then ricocheted off, ending up imbedded in a large tree trunk in a neat, tidy row.  
  
Finally, feeling they had put on a sufficient demonstration, Clark shifted back into speed mode. He quickly pulled the riders off of their horses and bound their hands and feet with the bridals from their mounts. In less than five seconds the remaining twenty-five riders were all immobilized. Within another ten seconds Clark had moved all of the underlings out of sight under the cover of the trees.  
  
With the situation under control Chloe rode forward to where Clark had left Gaius bound. Looking down at him she said, "LMy magic is great. Look how easily one man I have gifted with my powers was able to defeat you all. I can just as easily enchant many more. Do you think Carius would want to go up against one hundred or one thousand of my warriors? Now tell Carius to give us the stones or next time I won't hold my warriors in check and you will all be dead. I will expect Carius to meet us on the 15th of June at noon on the steps of the temple of Mars in Rome."  
  
Gaius didn't respond, just looked up at her with a look of confusion. Chloe didn't really expect nor need a response. With these men safely out of the way, she and Clark could get back to Lex and Lana.  
  
Turning towards Clark, who was rounding up all of the horses, Chloe called out in English. "Let's go, Clark. I have finished delivering the message."  
  
Just then Gaius blurted out, also in English, "Who the fuck are you people?"  
  
Chloe jumped down from her horse and walked over to where Gaius lay. She held up her right hand and loudly said the word, "Sword."  
  
This was one of the signals she and Clark had worked out in advance. As she closed her hand into a fist, Clark ran by at superspeed and thrust a sword hilt into her hand. To Gaius, who lay bound with his hands behind his back, it seemed as if the sword had appeared out of thin air by magic.  
  
Chloe lowered the sword point and ran it along Gaius' jaw, pushing just hard enough to draw a small trickle of blood.  
  
"I am a lady and I don't appreciate that kind of language," began Chloe.  
  
"Now, since you are the one bound on the ground and I am the one with the sword, I think the more pertinent question is, who are YOU?" Chloe asked with a menacing tone while waving the tip of the sword just inches from his face.  
  
With a quick darting of his eyes he realized that his men were no longer in sight. Taking a deep breath he said, "Tony Campinello."  
  
Chloe drove the tip of the sword into the dirt six inches in front of his face and then settled down into a comfortable position on her knees to have a little chat with this unexpected source of potentially useful information. Recognizing his accent she said, "Well, Tony, what is a good old Jersey boy like you doing hanging out in an ancient Roman backwater town? What is your story and your connection to Professor Carey?"  
  
Tony didn't take long to start spilling his guts. So far these people hadn't killed any of his men and he didn't want them to start with him. Besides this was suppose to a low risk, high paying job.  
  
"I was hired to watch over the Tolosa facility. I have been here for just over ten years. Two more years and I am scheduled to return home. I am supposed to return only two weeks after I left with 12 years worth of bonus pay. Enough to put my daughters through college and for my wife and I to retire in style. And my family only thinks I am gone on a two week business trip."  
  
"How did the Professor recruit you?" Chloe asked.  
  
"The Professor?" answered Tony. "No, I wasn't recruited by the Professor."  
  
"Then who?" Chloe continued trying to maintain a calm, intimidating tone.  
  
"His backers," started Tony and then seeing the impatient look on Chloe's face he quickly continued. "The Professor likes to play the ponies a little too much. Unfortunately, he had a real string of bad luck about four months ago. Well, four months ago back uptime in the 21st century. Shit, this time stuff is difficult to explain."  
  
As Tony saw Chloe's hand reach for the sword hilt, he quickly exclaimed. "Sorry about the language. I have been here a long time and the language is just a lot cruder here."  
  
When he saw her hand drop back to her lap he relaxed a little and continued. "He ended up owing $400,000 to several bookies who pushed it upstairs for collection."  
  
"Mafia?" asked Chloe.  
  
Tony nodded. "When the people came to collect, the Professor offered to cut them in on his project in return for canceling his debt. After providing a suitable demonstration they not only agreed to join his project, but also fronted him the money to set up operations here.  
  
"I was recruited to look out for their interests back here. My main purposes are to monitor the comings and goings of the Professor's people and maintain security for the facility at this end."  
  
"Twelve years sounds like an awful long commitment," said Chloe assuming an almost casual conversational tone.  
  
"Well, I was the only one they could find with the right combination of skills." When Chloe raised an eyebrow he explained. "After I got out of the army I went back to college and got master's degrees in Latin and in Roman history. I had planned on a career teaching Roman literature at some nice quiet college until my life took a different turn. Let's just say I had a unique combination of working knowledge of things Roman and a practical background in leading men in rough and tumble situations. When they offered me a million dollars for every year I was downtime, I jumped at the opportunity."  
  
Chloe was starting to get a better understanding of the situation, but felt it was time to steer the conversation towards topics more immediately relevant to their current situation.  
  
"How many portals does the Professor have in this time period?" she asked.  
  
With a somewhat surprised look, Tony responded, "Just this one, as far as I know."  
  
"Why did he locate it in such a remote location when he spends most of his time here in Rome acting as the emperor's soothsayer?"  
  
For someone who appeared to have only recently learned about the portals she seemed to have a surprising amount of knowledge about the Professor's activities here. "Two reasons. Certain magnetic fields make some locations easier to use than others. Second, the Professor had previously attempted to set up an operation like this in another time period with his portal located in a major city. The locals discovered it with nearly disastrous consequences for him. So this time he set it up in a location under his direct control."  
  
"What did the Professor explain about the current situation when he arrived here the other day?" Continued Chloe.  
  
"He said Lex Luthor, who thinks he is funding the experiment, showed up on campus for a six month review of the project. Apparently, one of the grad students made some comment that suggested to Mr. Luthor the project had been more successful than he had been led to believe. When he eventually started making comments about removing the Professor for unauthorized activities, the Professor decided to remove him from the picture since alternate methods of funding had become available. The Professor decided if he could get Luthor back here, then there wouldn't be any body uptime to worry about. However, the Professor doesn't like to get his own hands dirty. So knowing the girl was a friend of Luthor's, he assumed Luthor would follow him through the portal to save her.  
  
"The Professor set the equipment to give himself a reasonable head start. He then had me send a couple of men up to the facility to eliminate Luthor and the girl. Even if he eluded my men, the Professor didn't think a billionaire playboy would survive for long in this era." Here Tony paused and looked Chloe in the eye. "But obviously the Professor underestimated the resources Luthor would bring along."  
  
Chloe ignored this attempt to extract information from her. "How many others besides you and the Professor are back here at this time?"  
  
"Not many. This is still a relatively small operation since everything has to pass through the Professor's lab on campus. There are plans to build a second portal off-campus, but the last I heard it was still months from completion. Anyway to answer your question; first is a group of three people, an anthropologist and two grad students, who passed through here about five years ago on their way to Jerusalem. I haven't had a message from them in over two years, so I don't know if we will ever hear from them again."  
  
"Jerusalem, as in the crucifixion?" asked Chloe.  
  
Tony nodded. "Yeah, I think the Professor plans to someday go public after he has stolen, I mean made, his fortune. So he has this grand plan to send experts to document some of the most critical/controversial moments in world history."  
  
"Who else is back here?" asked Chloe.  
  
"There are a couple of other scientific teams scattered around the world, but they probably don't interest you. The only other person in this part of the world is Sven Torsnes. He has been here almost as long as I have, but he spends most of his time in Rome. He is some high mucky-muck in the Praetorian Guard."  
  
Chloe got this thoughtful look on her face. "Is he blond, about six foot six, built like Hitler's idea of the perfect Aryan specimen, goes by the name of Patricus Gasparus Venta?"  
  
Tony nodded. "How did you know?"  
  
Not realizing she was speaking out loud, Chloe quietly said, "I always wondered why Carius and Venta seemed so buddy-buddy."  
  
Tony just stared at her and wondered why he had this strange feeling this woman had meet the two of them 'in character' before. But that couldn't be possible since she must have come through the portal with Luthor only two days ago.  
  
Chloe shook her head to clear her memories of long ago dealings with Venta and the Praetorians and got the conversation focused back on issues of immediate concern. "Do you know what the Professor did with the green stones that open the portal from this end?"  
  
Tony shook his head. "I didn't realize the Professor had removed them until you made your little 'Druid Witch' speech, but then I didn't have any reason to search he when he arrived in Tolosa."  
  
"At this point, all Mr. Luthor is interested in is obtaining the stones and returning to the 21st Century. We are willing to use force, if necessary, and the resources and assets we have available to us here may unpleasantly surprise you. I believe Mr. Luthor may be willing to come to some mutually beneficial terms with your people, if you will facilitate his return. Hmm, have you been to Rome since you have been here?"  
  
Tony nodded, "Twice, the last time about three years ago."  
  
"Good, then if you can contact the Professor, tell him that Mr. Luthor would like to meet him at noon on the 15th of June on the steps in front of the temple to Mars. If you decide you would like to discuss alternate arrangements with Mr. Luthor we will be in Rome in about ten days. Do you know the Flavian palace on the outskirts of the city? Good, then leave a message any time after that with Rogerus, the majordomo, and it will be forwarded to us. Explain that the message is about the Tolosa mineral study."  
  
Chloe stood up and pulled her sword from the dirt. "I hope you choose the winning side."  
  
Tony tried one last time to elicit some information. "But who are you and how did you do those things?"  
  
Chloe took a step to the side so that as she held the sword hilt between her thumb and forefinger, the sword tip pointed down about a foot above Tony's abdomen. She slowly rotated the hilt between her thumb and finger and the silvery blade flashed in the lightening bolts that had started to arrive on the leading edge of the approaching storm. After a few seconds she suddenly said in a loud voice, "Sword," and then let go of the hilt.  
  
Tony could still feel the throbbing in his cheek where she had used the sword to cut him earlier. Now the sharp sword tip was falling towards his unprotected abdomen. Even with a drop of only 12 inches the sharp, heavy sword would penetrate several inches. He helpless watched it fall until the tip was less than two inches from his skin, when the sword suddenly vanished as mysteriously as it had first appeared.  
  
Chloe cleared her throat to get his attention back. Once Tony had looked back up, she tilted her head to the side, gave him a big Chloe grin, and said. "Don't think that Professor Carey's little toy is the only, or even the most significant, of Mr. Luthor's black projects."  
  
Letting her grin get even bigger, she ended with; "Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite." Then Clark picked him up, threw him over his shoulder, and carried him off into the woods to join the rest of his bound and gagged men.  
  
A few large, heavy drops of rain had started falling near the end of Chloe's conversation with Gaius, a.k.a. Tony Campinello. By the time Clark had returned from depositing him with his men, the few drops had turned into a torrential downpour. The kind told about in stories where the person turns his face up to the sky and drowns. Needless to say, they were both drenched, as Clark walked up to where Chloe was standing beside her horse. Their togas plastered to their bodies. Their hair dripping into their eyes.  
  
And Chloe just spun around and laughed.  
  
Then she reached up and threw her arms around Clark and gave him a hug and a not so chaste kiss. As she pulled her head back to catch her breath, she said: "That went so well. I must admit I had a few butterflies over the two of us taking on over thirty armed men, but I should have trusted you when you said the fighting would all be over within one minute. And the leader turning out to be from our time, what a stroke of luck."  
  
Clark nodded and leaned forward for another kiss. When this kiss ended he released her and took a step back. "I am still a little nervous about Lex and Lana. Let's catch up with them and then we can all discuss what you learned and how best to proceed."  
  
Chloe sobered up a little and nodded her agreement. She quickly vaulted into her saddle and after Clark handed her the reigns to his horse, she set off at gallop through the warm, refreshing rain.  
  
Clark gave her a little head start to allow himself a moment to watch her. As he was just about ready to follow her, he felt this sudden hunger pang. In all of the excitement he had forgotten the reason they had left their sojourn under the shade trees by the beach was to look for an early dinner. Therefore before following Chloe he made a detour to search the packs on the horses. He had secured them down the valley in a location out of sight of their riders, whom he had stashed in nearby trees. In a few seconds he had an assortment of food and a couple of skins filled with wine wrapped in a large piece of waterproof canvas.  
  
As he quickly set out after Chloe and the others, Clark wondered what wine really tasted like after it had been stored in an animal skin.  
  
End of Chapter 16 


	17. Portal Chapter 17

Chapter 17  
  
The coach pulled out of the stable complex with Lex, Lana, and Nicholas inside. A driver and an assistant handler were riding up front, directing the team of six horses. The coach looked more reminiscent of something from the Victorian era than from an old western movie. Victorian except for the gaudy paint scheme rather than a somber black. One of the big surprises since they had arrived was the extensive use of bright colors. Even most of the statues were painted in flesh tone colors rather than maintaining the cold, sterile marble seen in modern museums.  
  
The interior of the coach was fitted out with facing seats, very comfortable and plush, finished out with exotic leather obviously from no mere cow or horse. Lex and Lana had taken the aft, forward facing bench while Nicholas sprawled on the other. The interior was lit by only two small lamps near the doors rendering Nicholas only an indistinct blob to Lex and Lana except during the brief flashes of lightening. The side windows were open for air and light, but could be covered with leather side curtains, if the weather turned inclement.  
  
Lex turned to Lana and asked, "How are you holding up?"  
  
Lana gave him a wane smile that was difficult to discern in the dim interior of the coach under the darkening skies. "Okay, I guess. I am just really ready to go home and every minute home seems to be getting farther away. We passed through the portal, what two days ago, and it already feels like we have been here for weeks. The first day we just thought we were in California or Mexico and could be home in a few hours. The second day we find out we are stranded 2000 years back in time, but we may be able to quickly find the Professor and be on our way home. Today we have barely started on a journey to Rome and getting home looks to be weeks, if not months away."  
  
Lana's eyes started to well up and Lex was afraid she was about to cry. To try and lighten the mood he said; "Well, at least you have shoes." He lifted his bare right foot and wiggled his toes. "We never stop in one spot long enough to find boots for my big feet."  
  
The attempt at a smile this elicited was hardly more than a quiver. Lex decided getting this out of her system might be what she needed to get through the days ahead. Lex turned more fully towards her and slowly lifted her chin with one forefinger until she was looking into his eyes.  
  
"I know I am not Whitney or even your aunt Nell, but I would be happy to hold you, if it would help." Lex said quietly.  
  
Lana gave a small nod and moved to rest her head on his shoulder. As Lex put his arms around her she suddenly felt like the 16-year-old girl she really was. After the past few months of business dealings over The Talon, Lex had gradually stopped thinking of her as some high school kid, but more of a peer. Certainly, more of a peer than Clark or Chloe. Yet Clark and Chloe were the ones thriving here and Lana was the one who would benefit from his support.  
  
Lex could feel her silent weeping and hugged her a little tighter while slowly caressed her hair. "It's okay," he whispered. "Just let it out."  
  
This was not the first sobbing woman Lex had held in his arms, but somehow this time was different. Lex had dated a lot of models and actresses and debutantes in his days in Metropolis. Several of them had ended up in tears over something they had wanted from Lex that he was unable or unwilling to give. With Lana it was different. Oh, it was his fault for bringing her to the meeting with Professor Carey or she wouldn't be stuck back here, but she didn't seem to hold that against him. No, rather than blame him she just appeared to chalk it up to normal Smallville weirdness. While he sat there slowly rocking her, Lex realized how different she was from all of the women he had dated. She wasn't after him for his money or out to stab him in the back over some business deal. Rather she had her own interests and just wanted him to treat her fairly in the areas where their lives overlapped. Lex found this very refreshing and suddenly knew there would be a big hole in his life when they someday went their separate ways.  
  
After a few minutes Lana's tears stopped and she wiped her eyes. Hugging Lex a little tighter, she whispered; "Sorry to be the weepy female, I wish I was stronger like you."  
  
Lex moved the hand that had been caressing her hair until his fingers were intertwined with hers. "I'll let you in on a secret, I am not that strong either."  
  
"I can't imagine you weeping, Lex."  
  
Lex shook his head. "Unfortunately, I am not a weeper. I am a screamer. It is very embarrassing to have the servants pounding on my bedroom door in the middle of the night because of my screams. Eventually, I had to move to a bedroom at the far end of the mansion from the servant quarters." Not wanting to sound too dark and brooding he tried to inject a little levity. "You can't imagine the hush money I had to pay some of them to keep it from the papers."  
  
Lana felt Lex's need to talk and settled her head a little closer to his ear; "What are your nightmares about?"  
  
Lex hadn't talked about this with anyone since the stupid psychiatrist his father had brought in four years ago. But sitting there with Lana in his arms he felt like talking. "My Mom. In some ways you seem luckier than me. I mean it is sad you lost your parents, but at least it was quick and painless. And you were probably too young to have much memory of it. And you have Nell. My mom died when I was 14 and it was one of those slow lingering kinds of death. At the time I tried to do everything I could to help her, but nothing was enough. My nightmares involve losing her in a variety of different ways where if I was a little stronger, faster, smarter, I could have saved her. God, I miss her."  
  
"I wish I had met her. Tell me a little about her," whispered Lana.  
  
Lex closed his eyes and leaned his head back; "She was tall with beautiful burnt copper hair and sparkling green eyes. She dedicated her life to charities that helped people, perhaps to balance out my Dad's karma. Not that my Dad was as ruthless back in those days. Mom was the Yin to my Dad's Yang and when she was gone there was nothing to balance my Dad's life."  
  
"But this isn't about my Dad. I remember one time when I was nine, a few months before the meteor shower. My allergies had a severe flare-up and we had gone to Phoenix for the clean, dry air. Of course, she immediately checked around and it turned out former President Carter was in town starting up another of his 'Homes for the Homeless' projects. My mom and I spent three weeks helping build houses. I was just a kid, but I carried tools and did a little painting. It was one of the happiest times of my life."  
  
Lana snuggled a little closer and sighed. "It sounds like you were the lucky one. I don't really have any memories of my parents except that picture on the cover of Time."  
  
Lex felt more comfortable and relaxed than he had in a very long time. Usually he was so careful and controlled, considering every word and its implications before uttering it. But at this moment, the words just flowed out of his mouth without his thinking about them. "I wish I could talk to one of the women I have dated the way I can talk to you."  
  
Without thinking about it either, Lana responded, "Maybe you have been dating the wrong women."  
  
As soon as the words were out of their mouths, they both tensed, as the implications of what they had said sunk in.  
  
Lana tried to relax, putting her head back down on Lex's shoulder. Was she really interested in Lex? Previously, their relationship had always been strictly business. He was always so focused. She had seen some of the stories in The Inquisitor about his wild Metropolis lifestyle, but had never seen a wild side or even a personal side before during his year in Smallville. Just the calm, unflappable businessman.  
  
But he did have a personal side with heartaches and fears just like her. And apparently, she was the first one he had ever felt comfortable confiding in. Was there a real connection here or just two souls lost in time looking for some momentary comfort?  
  
What about Whitney? Was he really what she wanted or needed? The past few months running The Talon had really opened her eyes. She enjoyed the challenge of running a business and looking forward to the next bigger challenge. Oh, she didn't have any burning desire to conquer the world like Lex or his Dad, but still she knew the best times of her life would always be somewhere out in the future.  
  
Lately, when she was around Whitney she kept having this mental image of him twenty or thirty years in the future. What she saw was a future Al Bundy, the guy from 'Married with Children'. Someone whose high point in life was high school football. Would she be happy with someone whose life peaked somewhere in the past rather than somewhere out in the future?  
  
At the same time, Lex was also pondering the unexpected turn in the conversation. Ever since he had agreed to take over the plant in Smallville, he had been going through a metamorphosis. Gone where the days of partying all night, every night. When was the last time he had stayed up all night that wasn't work related? And work. Before accepting this assignment it had never been important to him, but now it did matter. Most of the families in Smallville, either directly or indirectly, depended on him for their livelihoods. When he first arrived, the job was all about proving something to himself and perhaps, though he hated to admit it, to his father. But now he really cared about the people who worked for him. Before he arrived in Smallville, he never would have believed he would have many sleepless nights worrying that if he screwed up, people would lose their jobs. Was this from being around people like Lana and Clark and even Clark's parents? Or was it just a sign he was finally growing up?  
  
All he knew was that he had more happy memories from the past year than all of the other years, since his mother had died, combined. And Lana had been a part of a lot of those memories. Of course, a lot of those times had been spent talking with Clark about how Clark should take the initiative with Lana. Perhaps all those conversations had been working on Lex's own subconscious. Certainly all of the women from his Metropolis days had lost their luster. Was it because he had been subconsciously focusing on Lana?  
  
Now that he had opened his eyes and looked consciously at Lana for the first time as something more than a business partner or Clark's friend, what did he see? A smart, astute person who could be a formidable business leader when she had a little more experience. But business wasn't her whole life; she also found time to help others. Several times since they had started The Talon, she had hosted charity events, something that never would have occurred to him. Charity Events. Is that really the key? Is it that none of the women he had dated in Metropolis ever measured up against his subconscious standard of his mother, but in some way Lana did?  
  
Finally, after several long, uncomfortable minutes of silence, Lana quietly spoke. "I don't know why I said that, but" and here Lex started to interrupt, but Lana just covered his lips with a couple of her fingers. "No, Lex, something important just happened. When my words first came out,  
they were meant to be supportive. But they were like throwing a light switch and when the lights came up the room contained some new and unexpected treasure. I don't know if it is something real or the result of the conversation or just the 'only man on the desert island' syndrome. However, it looks like we are going to be spending a lot of time together for the next few weeks. I don't want to give up the closeness we have had for the past few minutes. It feels like my sanity and maybe my soul depend on it."  
  
Lana paused for a moment, fearing she had gone too far. When she started to continue, this time it was Lex's turn press his fingertips lightly to her lips. He intended to speak, but for a moment he focused on the softness of her lips. Before the delay became unbearably long, he pulled her closer so he could whisper in her ear. "You're right. I feel some thing, some connection, happening, too. Since it looks like we have a lot of time, I would love to spend some of it holding you and talking. There are things I suddenly feel the urge to get out, talk about, and try to work through. My mom. My life. My dreams and goals. And you. I would love to listen to you. Big things. Little things. Whatever you would like to share."  
  
Lana nodded so he could sense it through his fingertips. And she felt her eyes start to tear up again, but this time from happiness. This moment she felt truly happy for the first time since they had found out they were lost in time. She realized Lex might turn into her closest friend. If it led to something more, that might be okay, or even wonderful, too.  
  
Lex felt her body relax against him. When she turned her head slightly, her damp cheek touched his. He instinctively knew these tears were different and it lifted his heart. Perhaps together they could get through this adventure. If he was lucky, he might find a way past some of his fears and nightmares. If he was really lucky, he might have just found something more.  
  
For a long while they just held each other tight, relaxing to the gentle swaying of the coach from the smooth Roman road.  
  
End of Chapter 17 


	18. Portal Chapter 18

Chapter 18  
  
Finally, as they were drifting off to sleep from the gentle rocking motion and the morning's strenuous exertions, the couch slowed to a halt. Nicholas had been quietly watching the two during the ride. He hadn't earlier noticed the connection between these two, but with the months they had spent together back in her kingdom and then on the road, it should have been obvious.  
  
He hated to interrupt them, but they had reached the clearing. They should make some preparations, in case there was trouble before Clark and Coelia arrived.  
  
Finally, he coughed loudly to get their attention. After they looked up, he said, "LWe have reached the clearing where we are suppose to meet Coelia and Clark. I think we should scout out the area a little, in case their diversion doesn't work and Carius' men arrive here first."  
  
Lex nodded and, as Nicholas climbed down from the carriage, he turned and translated for Lana. The pace had been much slower than they had achieved during the morning's hectic ride. It had taken them close to an hour to cover the six miles from the stable. Still, it was faster than walking and easier than riding a Roman saddle.  
  
Since they were going to be stopped for at least a few minutes, the drivers wanted to feed and water the team. After a quick consultation, Lex and Nicholas agreed. If there was going to be trouble, they would never outrun it in the coach anyway.  
  
However with a quick scan of the area they did find a small, little used cart track heading north out of the clearing. They backed the coach and the team a little way up the path before unhitching the horses. It wouldn't provide much cover in bright sunlight, but on a dark, overcast evening the coach might not be seen with a hasty glance.  
  
The clearing was about 100 yards wide and 200 yards long, but felt much larger after the past few miles where the road had winded through a heavily forested area.  
  
In the center of the clearing, on the south side of the road, someone had erected a small prayer chapel. Perhaps it would be better described as an altar with an overhanging awning than an actual building. Lex and Lana had just walked over, more from a need to stretch their legs than any actual curiosity, when the sprinkles began. They stood for a couple of minutes under the protection of the awning listening to the relaxing sound of the drops hitting the roof. Just as they decided they had better head back, a brilliant bolt of lightening hit the far side of the meadow. As the resulting sharp crash of thunder rolled over their heads, the heavens let loose. They would be soaked before they got twenty feet let alone the nearly 200 feet to where the coach lay partial hidden. So, hoping the intense portion of the storm wouldn't last too long, Lex took a step back and leaned against the altar. While there was plenty of space for two under the awning, Lana moved until she was backed up against Lex. She reached down and took Lex's hands and draped them around her waist. Lex started to speak, but she shushed him. "Lex, I want to think some more about what was said in the carriage. How about we just listen to the rain for a few minutes?"  
  
Lex murmured his agreement and they both settled back into their own thoughts.  
  
After about ten minutes the downpour had just started to lessen when they heard approaching horses. Lex suggested heading out into the rain to reach a less exposed spot, but Lana told him to wait a minute.  
  
A few seconds later, Lana said, "There are only a couple of horses approaching. I think it must be Clark and Chloe. Don't you think Carius' men would show up in greater force?"  
  
Lex acquiesced to her more extensive horse experience. As they waited for the horses to approach, he was a little surprised that Lana made no move to step away from him. Apparently, she wasn't bothered by the thought of Chloe or Clark seeing him with his arms around her. Had their relationship really changed that much in the past hour?  
  
It didn't take long for the two horses to get close enough to let them see the two bedraggled riders were indeed their fellow travelers. As the horses entered the clearing and slowed, Lana raised her hand and call out to the others. Clark and Chloe returned her wave and headed over.  
  
When they reached the altar, Chloe and Clark quickly jumped down and ducked under the cover of the awning. During the first couple of minutes of the ride, the rain had felt warm and exhilarating. But after 15 minutes of coaxing the horses along at the best practical speed on the increasing slick road, Chloe was glad to reach a sheltered location. Now, if she could get out of her wet clothes and into something dry, everything would be wonderful.  
  
"I didn't really expect you this quickly," began Lex. "Does this mean you were successful?"  
  
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I don't believe there will be any pursuit for many hours, if at all." After a quick glance around, she continued. "What did you do with the coach?"  
  
Without taking his hands from around Lana, Lex pointed with his head. "We found a small path leading off of the main road over there. We backed the coach up it into the trees, so it would be less visible, in case there was trouble." Turning to look back at the others, he asked, "How did you divert the Professor's men?"  
  
Chloe noticed the way Lex's arms were comfortably wrapped around Lana's body. She had never thought of Lex and Lana as a potential couple before, but after a moment's thought she realized they might make an interesting match. However she decided not to bring the topic up to allow things to advance at their own pace until either she had a chance to talk to Lana alone or unless they decided to bring the topic up first.  
  
"Is there anything dry to put on in the coach? I would really like to get out of these wet things and then we can talk about Carius' men. Oh, I did get to have a little chat with their leader and I have some intel that will help us plan our next moves."  
  
Lex looked out into the pouring rain. If they were going to head over to the coach now, they were all going to end up soaked. But they couldn't spend the whole night standing here waiting for the rain to let up, particularly with Chloe and Clark looking like two drowned rats. "There are some blankets and quilts stowed under the bench seats in the coach. Come on, follow me."  
  
Taking Lana's hand, Lex set off at a brisk pace to the coach. Even Clark couldn't help but notice this unusual behavior. However before he could comment Chloe set off after the others and he was left to gather up their horses.  
  
When they reached the coach they found the horse team hitched up and ready to leave. The driver quickly explained his concern about getting the coach stuck on the dirt track, if the soil became too soft. While the others climbed aboard, Clark quickly tied the leads of the saddle horses to the back of the coach. Grabbing the canvas-covered bag of food and drink, he ran to join the others.  
  
Lex pulled the pile of blankets from the under the seats. Everyone quickly stripped off the wet robes and wrapped themselves in the blankets. With the side windows covered to keep out the rain, the two small lamps provided the only small light. Other than a brief flash of light colored skin, the group's remaining modesty was left mostly intact.  
  
Lex and Lana resumed their position on the aft bench leaving Chloe wedged between Clark and Nicholas on the front seat. Once everyone was settled, Nicholas opened the small panel to the front compartment telling the driver they were ready to leave. As the coach started to move, Clark opened the large canvas bag he had placed on the floor.  
  
"I don't know about you, but I could eat a horse," Clark said as he started to dig through the pile of food.  
  
Lex glanced at the food Clark had scrounged. Mostly traveling food like you would expect on any hiking trip to the backcountry where you had to pack it in on your back. Looking at the jerky mixed in with other items, Lex responded, "That's good, Clark. I think some of this is from a horse."  
  
Lex got the surprised look he was expecting from the others, but then Clark just shrugged his shoulders. "Do you think it will taste more like beef or deer?"  
  
"Deer," said Chloe. When the others glanced at her, she nodded. One look told them she had eaten most everything at one time or another.  
  
As they passed out the food, Nicholas grabbed the smaller of the two wineskins and passed it through the small opening to the driver and his assistant. Clark grabbed the other skin and shot a short stream into his mouth like he had seen in the movies. He had only had wine a couple of times before, but the flavor of this wine was very different, more bitter with a strange, almost woody flavor. He couldn't decide if it was from the wineskin or the lack of pasteurizing or homogenizing or whatever 'izing they did to wine back home.  
  
Besides the jerky, Clark's pilfered stash included: raisins, a few small, tough apples, a couple of small loaves of very hard bread, several small bags of assorted nuts, and some dried, heavily salted fish. Everyone was quickly starting to miss the modern developments in agriculture and the art of food preservation. However at the moment everyone was famished and rapidly dug into the available food, although Lana did studiously avoid the jerky. Having spent a lot of her life with horses as almost her best friends, she wasn't ready to try the jerky in case Lex's kidding remark happened to be true. No, she decided, she would wait until a time when it became her only choice.  
  
After a couple of minutes, when the gnawing sense of imminent starvation had abated, Chloe decided to start the discussion about her conversation with Tony. If she were lucky, perhaps the topic of how they stopped the Professor's men wouldn't come up. Frankly, it had been a long day and she wasn't in the mood for coming up with another story to cover what really had happened. One of the more interesting parts of this little time travel expedition so far had been keeping all of the various stories she had told Marcus and Nicholas and Lex and Lana consistent. With a quick grin she realized that over the past year Clark too had start to learn the art of story telling and misdirection. He definitely had some natural abilities in that area since even she hadn't suspected his carefully hidden secret.  
  
What was that acronym which had been so popular during the eighteen months she had spent as a nurse in Australia during the Second World War? Oh, yes - KISS - Keep it simple, stupid. Very appropriate for times when the truth needed to be concealed behind a cover story.  
  
Even better, if she diverted the explanation long enough, perhaps Lex would decide Clark was an easier target for extracting the true. Besides, since it was Clark's secret this time they were trying to conceal, it seemed only fair that he should be stuck coming up with the explanation.  
  
Finally having decided to ignore the whole topic of the diversion, Chloe launched into a discussion of her conversation with Tony before Lex could raise any questions.  
  
Between handfuls of raisins, Chloe began; "It turns out the old timer among the Professor's men in Tolosa, the 'Gaius' from last night's conversation with Marcus and Nicholas is really an associate of the Professor's from our time."  
  
"Associate?" asked Lex. "Somehow that doesn't have the ring of someone who just works for him."  
  
"Nothing gets by you," said Chloe with an extra special grin, realizing how much actual was getting by him. "Gaius, whose real name is Tony Campinello, has been here for the past ten years representing the Professor's financial backers." From the look on Lex's face she knew she had hooked him and the topic of the diversion had been, at least temporarily, forgotten.  
  
Lex quickly sputtered out, "Wait a second, I am his financial backer." With only a short pause, he continued, "If my father is trying to sabotage this project behind me back, like the others."  
  
Even in the extremely dim light Chloe could see the vein on Lex's temple begin to pulsate. Having seen the dark mood swings Lex sometimes had when he thought Lionel had tried to slap him down and wanting to keep Lex in a better mood for Lana's sake, Chloe jumped back in. She knew Lex could more easily handle interference from the mob than from his own father.  
  
"No, Lex. Tony is not working for your father." When he slipped his hand back into Lana's, she knew he was calm enough for her to proceed. "One of Tony's assignments has been to find the ultimate, safe hiding place for Jimmy Hoffa."  
  
Clark and Lana just stared at her, but Lex immediately understood the reference. In his best old Brandon impression, Lex said, "Ahh, yes. Being buried in ancient Rome is much better than sleeping with the fishies."  
  
When Chloe stopped laughing, Lex asked, "So the Professor has hooked up with the mob?"  
  
Chloe nodded, "Apparently, he had some significant gambling debts and brought them into the project in an attempt to clear things with them."  
  
"They have always seemed liked business men first and foremost, so I think maybe we can work a deal with them," said Lex. When Lana gave him a hard stare, he quickly continued. "Well, that's what I have heard. Of course, I have never had any dealings with them."  
  
It looked like Lana was going to say something about this, but then she shook her head with a 'Luthors will be Luthors' expression on her face. After giving Lex's hand a quick squeeze, she turned back to Chloe. "Did you find out anything else useful from this guy?"  
  
Chloe nodded. "A couple of things. First, I asked him to pass along a message to the Professor, stating Lex wanted to met with him on the steps of the temple to Mars in Rome on the 15th of June, which is just over a month from now." At the fallen look on Lana's face, Chloe explained. "We are going to need some time after we reach Rome to set things up. I have a lot of resources and contacts in Rome, but it will take a couple of weeks to get things organized, as I always prefer to be prepared and to hold the upper hand. Besides if we can locate him before he expects us, we may be able to snatch him and/or the meteor rocks. This also gives you and Clark a little more time to become proficient in Latin in case Murphy strikes during our next encounter with the Professor."  
  
Seeing Lana had plenty to think about, Chloe continued, "I also told Tony how to get a message to us through the majordomo of my palace in Rome, if he decides to cut a deal with us instead of the Professor."  
  
"Palace?" asked Clark.  
  
Chloe grinned. "The magistrate's place where we stayed in Tolosa is just a hovel. My place in Arelate is much nicer. But the Flavian palace in Rome? Let's just say a certain mansion/transplanted Scottish castle,which you all know, is like a two-bedroom track home in comparison. Even including the mansion's modern conveniences." Chloe's eyes drifted shut for a moment, as she remembered one of Analisa's massages. It would be fun to see some of her favorite friends and servants again after all of these centuries. For the first time she considered acquiring the Professor's device when they got home. After all, who better to appreciate a time machine than someone who had already lived through all of the destinations?  
  
After drifting with her thoughts for a brief couple of minutes, she was brought back to reality by another question from Lex.  
  
"Any other useful information from this 'Tony' character?"  
  
Chloe started to shake her head to clear her thoughts and then abruptly turned it into a nod. "One other useful thing. Well, I guess it will be useful, although not useful in a pleasant way. Just useful in a 'know-your- enemies' sort of way."  
  
This circuitous start to this latest revelation had the others on edge.  
  
"According to Tony, besides the Professor and himself, there is only one of other person from the 21st century in the area. Oh, there are at least three small teams of archaeologists scattered around the globe doing research, but according to Tony they have either been out of contact for a number of years or known to be somewhere besides Gaul or Italy."  
  
"The one who is in the area is Sven Torsnes. He has been here about eight years. Mostly in Rome, since he is known here as Patricus Gasparus Venta, the second in command of the Praetorian Guard."  
  
Here Chloe paused and turned to Clark clasping his hand. "I know you are still trying to adjust to the whole concept of my long life and previous husbands and children. I chose the story about the Sphinx this afternoon specifically because it took place in the distant past and didn't involve husbands or children or boyfriends. I had hoped to give you more time to come to terms with those things. But now that Venta has come into the picture, there are things about my prior life in this time period that are going to impact things when we get to Rome. Plus to give us the best advantage, we will need to travel in my old circles. We are going to run into a lot of old friends and acquaintances. I could wait a few more days to explain things, however I would just as soon get through it now, so any ideas we come up with don't have to be changed at the last minute. Can you handle some discussion about my life?"  
  
Clark leaned his head back against the front wall of the compartment, took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Two days ago Clark had his first real kiss with a girl. With Chloe. At the pond in what turned out to be the Professor's canyon. And he had thought at the time that it had been her first 'real' kiss also. Then to find out she had been married 237 times and had had 638 children. But if they ever hoped to have a real relationship after this adventure, he was going to have to learn to accept that she had a life before he entered it.  
  
Clark reached around her pulling her close, until her head was resting against his chest. Similar, he suddenly realized, to the way Lana had been curled up with Lex for the past few minutes. Suddenly, he was unsure of his feelings towards Lana and Lex. Did he want to ask Lex his advice about how best to proceed with Chloe, based on Lex's far vaster experience with women? Or did he want to beat the shit out of him for so quickly moving in on Clark's long-time fantasy girl? For all of his superhuman speed and strength and vision, the frequent extreme peaks and valleys in his mental state over the past couple of days had been hard on Clark.  
  
Finally, realizing all of the others were patiently waiting for a response from him, Clark took one more deep, slow breath and said; "Yeah, I think so. Your life is real and I need to accept it, if we are going to be together."  
  
Looking down, Clark saw a pair of big, fat tears rolling down from Chloe's eyes. As she tried to smile and blink them away, Clark realized he really did love her, regardless of her past. Slowly he bent his head down and kissed the tears. Then, with a quick kiss to the tip of her nose, he sat back.  
  
"I am ready to listen whenever you are ready to talk."  
  
Chloe had been really afraid she would lose Clark over her past. Perhaps she still would, but at least for the moment, the crisis had been averted. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to hold him. And maybe kiss him a little. But once started down that path, she didn't think she would be able to stop this time. And now was not the right moment. She wanted the first time to be special with both of them in happy, upbeat moods. So pulling her thoughts together, she started to tell them about her previous life in Rome in this time period.  
  
End of Chapter 18 


	19. Portal Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
  
"It seems weird talking about things that happened 2000 years ago as though they happened last week. But since we are back here, from one perspective these events just happened. When I was talking to Tony he commented on how difficult it was to describe things when you had an 'uptime' and a 'downtime'. He was right, and he didn't even have the added complication of having two 'downtime' selves like me. I mean, it is 9 PM on May the second in the year 37 AD and there is the me who is with you and also the me who is," and Chloe stopped and stared blankly for a couple of seconds. "Just heading home to my estate in Egypt after dinner at the Pharaoh's palace."  
  
"Ah, Chloe," interjected Lex. "Are you like in some weird mental contact with the other you back here?"  
  
"What?" Chloe responded with a questioning look on her face.  
  
"For a second there, it was like you were no longer with us. I thought maybe you were communicating with the other you, since you seem so certain what the other you is doing."  
  
Chloe shook her head. "No, I have no recollection of running into a future version of myself, 2000 years ago. So I assume we will get through this adventure without ever bumping into the 'old' me. No, I guess if I had a momentary blank expression, it was because I was accessing my internal clock and then my stored memories of what I had been doing at this exact moment. When I pulled up the memories I realized we have been sitting here eating food like you would take on a back-packing trip, while the other me had just finished this fabulous nine course meal."  
  
"The other you is really having dinner with the Pharaoh?" asked Lana. "That is so cool."  
  
Chloe shook her head. "I hate to disappoint you, but it wasn't like some scene from 'The Ten Commandments' with Yul Brynner. The Pharaohs you are thinking of date from the time of the building of the pyramids, 1500-2500 years ago."  
  
"Really," said Lana with a hint of disappointment in her voice.  
  
"Afraid so," responded Chloe. It is amazing the impact of TV and the movies on people's perceptions, thought Chloe. Lana would probably be more impressed meeting the current Pharaoh of Egypt then the emperor of Rome, even though the emperor has 100 times the power. "You need to realize that Egypt is now a Roman province and the Pharaoh is just a figurehead position. The Roman governor is the real power. And the Pharaoh isn't even Egyptian. Ever since Alexander the Great conquered Egypt the Pharaohs have been Greek. The current Pharaoh, ahh, let me remember, was it Philip III or Philip IV? Ahh, yes Philip IV and he doesn't even speak Egyptian, only Greek and Latin."  
  
"Actually, since Egypt is now only a Roman province and Caledonia is still an independent nation, you as the legal heir to the Caledonia throne outrank the Pharaoh, according to this era's equivalent of Miss Manner's Guide to Etiquette." Chloe stated with a ring of conviction in her voice.  
  
"Ah, Chloe, you do remember you just made that whole thing up about me being a princess?" asked Lana.  
  
"Mere unimportant details," said Chloe with a wave of her hands.  
  
Lex whispered into Lana's ear, "Looks like you're stuck with the title for the duration, your highness." Then he lightly kissed her earlobe. "Hope you didn't mind, I have kissed a lot of models and actresses in my time, but I have never had the opportunity to nibble on the ear of royalty before." Lex kissed her earlobe one more time before lifting his head away.  
  
"Anyway," Chloe began again to get them back on track. "I am going the relate the key things that happened to the other me over the past few years as though it had just happened to me, to keep things simple. I hope everyone follows."  
  
The others slowly nodded their heads; hoping things would become clearer as Chloe went along.  
  
"I arrived in Rome five and a half years ago. That would have been October of 31 AD. I had spent the previous seven years mainly at my estate in Athens. Before that I had traveled and stay at other estates, so this was my first visit to Rome in over forty years."  
  
"The city was much changed from my previous stay, both architecturally, politically, and even the mood of the people. My previous stay had been during the height of Augustus Caesar's rule. He would boast near the end of his life that he had found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble. And it was true. Lots of construction and reconstruction had been going on forty years ago, but now it was mostly complete. New imperial palaces. A rebuilt forum. A new marble facade on the Circus Maximus. Many new temples. Several new or extensively enlarged baths. The list could go on, but you get the idea. Compared to my previous stay forty years earlier, on the surface Rome seemed all new and gleaming."  
  
"But underneath, the first signs of rot were visible. Whereas Augustus was an outgoing, gregarious person by nature, his successor, Tiberius, was very much the opposite: reclusive, timid, and paranoid that people were out to get him. Certain of his counselors, including I suspect, the Professor, took advantage of this.  
  
"As part of all this, the role of Praetorians changed. Originally, they were set up to be an honor guard and not much more. Sort of like the guards at Buckingham Palace with their bright red jackets and tall bearskin hats. But over the course of Tiberius' reign, the Praetorians started to change. Slowly at first, but gradually they started to gain in power and influence. They had paid informants everywhere. Then opponents of Tiberius began to be arrested and disappear without a hint of a trial. Oh, the Praetorians never became as bad or infamous as the Gestapo, but they became an important force in Roman politics. And while they have a figurehead leader selected by the Roman senate, for all practical purposes, Venta controls the Praetorians.  
  
"So it turns out two 21st century men have significant power in Rome. The Professor in his capacity of imperial soothsayer to Tiberius and Venta as the commander of the only significant military force allowed in the city, the Praetorians.  
  
"Of course, when I arrived in the city five years ago, I had no reason to suspect that a couple of time travelers from the distant future would be effectively trying to take control of the emperor and through him the empire. No, I was in my usual mode of trying to enjoy my life and ignoring things that didn't directly affect me.  
  
"I came to Rome at this time, because I had become bored with Athens. Most of the best artists and musicians in Athens seemed to have moved Rome, attracted by the power and wealth, like moths to a flame.  
  
"So remembering the miserable muggy, humid heat of the Roman summer, I timed my arrival for the fall and the start of the new theatrical season. A few days after my arrival I was trying out the Baths of Augustus, which he had built and donated to the people of Rome after my last visit, when I ran into Marina, Marcus' future wife, at a poetry reading. Marina, the daughter of a senator, and I quickly became best friends.  
  
"It was at an afternoon play, some Greek comedy that was popular at the time, about four months later, that we met Marcus Petronius Martialis and his older brother, Julian Constantius Martialis, for the first time. I won't say it was love at first sight, but the brothers' were handsome, smart, witty, fun to talk to, and, well Marina and I were soon smitten." Chloe paused with a slight blush that was mostly lost in the dark coach interior. "Did I just say smitten? Now I am starting to talk like some Harlequin Romance novel."  
  
Chloe felt Clark grin at this hint of levity. Trying the skim over the next part, she continued. "Three months later Marina married Marcus and I married Julian at this beautiful double ceremony at the Martialis' country estate about 50 miles northeast of Rome."  
  
"Can you tell us a little about a Roman wedding?" asked Lana.  
  
Chloe wanted to get past the whole marriage topic as quickly as possible. So she asked the question. "Who present has ever looked at the wedding magazines at the public library? Lex?"  
  
"Ah, is no an acceptable answer?" Lex responded, not certain why Chloe was asking. Was this one of those questions from Cosmo magazine? Was there a 'correct' answer?  
  
"Clark?" asked Chloe.  
  
"No"  
  
"Lana? And I expect the truth."  
  
"Okay, maybe once or twice." answered Lana.  
  
"Those were the answers I was expecting. Lana, how about we talk about Roman weddings sometime when we are alone at the baths. I would love to talk about it, but it is definitely a chick thing."  
  
"Okay," said Lana, understanding Chloe's logic.  
  
Getting back to her narrative, Chloe continued. "The Martialis family was another one of the ruling families of Rome. Not as old as my family, the Flavians, but still one of the richest and most politically powerful. The sons were expected to serve with the military before going into politics or the family business. A month after the wedding, Julian and Marcus had to leave for two years service with the army of the Rhine."  
  
"The Rhine was considered a hazardous duty area, so the wives of the leaders generally remained in Italy. Therefore, other than for Marina and I 'officially' residing at the Martialis' mansion instead of at our own families' mansions, our lives went back to the way they had been before we met the brothers.  
  
"Unfortunately, 18 months into their tour of duty, there was a major battle with the Germans and Julian was seriously hurt. He made it back to Rome, but by then it was too late. I had acquired more medical knowledge over my life than anyone else at the time, but Julian's wound had become infected to the point where none of my remedies did any good. He lingered for about a week and then he was gone." This last was said with the sense of loss that is felt after a short couple of years and not of a memory from so long ago. Clark hugged her tight for a moment and then kissed the top of her head.  
  
"That is so sad," said Lana quietly, as she squeezed Lex's hand a little tighter. "It must be tough to lose someone you love so soon after you found them."  
  
"Yeah," answered Chloe. "but it's always hard whether you were with them for a month or fifty years."  
  
After a minute of silence where they all thought of the friends and loved ones they had lost, Chloe finally shook her head and continued filling the others in on her life during the past few years in Rome. "I observed the customary six months of mourning and then tried to get on with my life."  
  
"The period of mourning brings us to a time a little over two years ago. I started going back out into public, attending parties and accepting dinner invitations. At one of these parties I met Patricus Gasparus Venta for the first time. Venta is six foot six, has blond hair and blue eyes, and looks like some Greek statue. He knows how to turn on the charm when he chooses and for some reason he decided to turn that charm on me. Perhaps it was because of my strong ties to both the Flavian and Martialis families while he had no connections to any of the old ruling Roman families. Actually, it was something of a mystery how he came out of nowhere to end up in such a high position with the Praetorians.  
  
"I never knew what it was about him, but something always rubbed me the wrong way. I thought it was just his womanizing ways at the time. Whatever it was I was sensing, I ended up rebuffing all of his overtures. This didn't sit well with him, but I was too important for him to take direct action against me. However after about six months, strange things started to happen to friends and acquaintances. Accusations of treason. People rounded up in the middle of the night to never be see again.  
  
"Finally, about six months ago, Venta came and told me that if I didn't marry him, he would no longer be able to protect me from the rumors of treason going around. I told him to give me a day to get some things in order and then I would join him for a public announcement of our betrothal. That very night I set off for my estate in Egypt. This was one of my emergency fallback places with no connection to my Flavian family in Rome. My plan was to just quietly disappear from the family for thirty or forty years until Venta was old or dead. The only ones I told about Egypt were Marcus and Marina since they were about to leave for Gaul in a matter of days. By the time they returned to Rome in a few years, Venta's attention would long since have moved on to other matters."  
  
With a deep sigh, Chloe concluded. "That's the short version of why things suddenly seem more complicated. I originally thought we could get in and out of Rome without my getting entangled with Venta again. But now that I find out he is also from the 21st century and will doubtlessly be working with the Professor to take out Lex, developing a plan that accounts for him will definitely be necessary."  
  
"Hmm, did you ever see Carius and Venta together?" asked Lex. "Did you ever hear anything between them that might help us?"  
  
"As I said yesterday at the baths, I only met Carius a couple of times at parties for the emperor. Mostly he and I traveled in different circles. Let me check my memories."  
  
Once again Chloe got this blank expression on her face. Only this time it lasted much longer. After several minutes the others were starting to get a little concerned. She sat there just staring straight ahead. At regular intervals her eyes would blink, but even the blinking gave the impression of a body on autopilot. Finally, after almost five minutes her body gave a sudden jerk and she took a sudden sharp breath.  
  
After letting the breath slowly out, she said, "That was very unusual."  
  
"What just happened?" asked Lex.  
  
"I was just reliving an incident that happened at the emperor's birthday party nine months ago. It is not often I access an old memory where I didn't understand the language when the events happened, but when I relive the moment thousands of years later I do understand the language. At this party, I had been chatting with Marina when she saw some old friends across the hall. She went to talk to them and I was going to swing by the food table, before looking for some other friends. As I was coming out of the small alcove we had been in, Carius and Venta where standing right around the corner talking. I didn't understand what they were saying at the time, but recognizing Venta's voice, I hung back waiting for them to leave because I didn't want to deal with him just then."  
  
"Of course, what is weird now is that they were speaking in English. Since English as we understand it wouldn't be developed for at least 1200 years, it wasn't surprising that I didn't understand it. I am fluent in lots of languages, but still from time to time I do come across new ones. So at the time it didn't strike me as strange that they were using a language I didn't know."  
  
"How many languages do you know?" asked Clark.  
  
"That are still in use today? Maybe 35. Including all of the ones no longer in use? About 175." responded Chloe automatically, while her mind was still focused on the conversation she had overheard.  
  
"If we can get past Chloe's linguistic skills for the moment," interjected Lex. "Is the conversation of any help in our situation?"  
  
"I don't think so," said Chloe. "They were just talking about when Carius was planning to return to Tolosa to travel back 'uptime'. The date they were discussing was about two weeks after that party. So everything they discussed happened many months ago."  
  
"Well, it was worth a shot," said Lex.  
  
"What were you expecting?" asked Lana.  
  
"Nothing really. Just thought by some dumb luck the Professor chose this particular date for his return here when he escaped through the portal with Lana in tow, because it had some significance. Like he was planning to meet Venta in Arelate the day after tomorrow and we could avoid the whole trip to Rome." answered Lex.  
  
"I am afraid we didn't get that lucky." started Chloe, when she suddenly changed it to an "Oh, shit."  
  
"What?" exclaimed Lex, Lana, and Clark at virtually the same time.  
  
"I was searching my memories of those years for any other occasions where I overheard English being spoken." answered Chloe.  
  
"Oh, shit, sounds more significant than just another instance of English," said Lex.  
  
"Yeah," said Chloe. "This conversation wasn't between Carius and Venta. This conversation was between Venta and General Domicius, who leads the army of the Rhine."  
  
"Another person from the 21st century?" asked Lex with a concerned tone. "But I thought you said this Venta guy was the only one besides the Professor in Rome."  
  
"That's what Tony said," responded Chloe sounding a little pissed off. "Before I realized he spoke English I had already mentioned our goal of arranging a meeting between Lex and the Professor in Rome. He must have decided giving up one name would be enough to satisfy us. Damn, it has been too long since I have been involved with intrigue like this. I should have questioned him harder."  
  
"He looked pretty intimidated at the time, Chloe," said Clark. "Maybe Tony doesn't know about this General Domicius."  
  
"Anyway," cut in Lana in an attempt to calm everyone down. "what difference does one more person back here really make? It still comes down to getting the meteor rocks from the Professor and being on our way home."  
  
Chloe started shaking her head and then realized Lex and Lana couldn't see her in the darkened coach. "No, unfortunately it matters a lot. Venta and General Domicius were talking about their plan for the General to march his army south in the spring and together they were going to overthrow the government of Rome."  
  
"This spring?" asked Clark.  
  
"Yes. Typically the passes through the Alps open in early to mid May and they could reach Rome by early to mid June."  
  
"Chloe, do you remember any army marching on Rome this year?" asked Lex.  
  
"No, so either they didn't follow through or something stopped them," answered Chloe.  
  
"Like what?" asked Lana.  
  
"Like us," answered Clark in the tone he got when someone needed saving. And this time it might be the whole future of the world as they knew it, which needed their help.  
  
End of Chapter 19 


	20. Portal Chapter 20

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 20  
  
It was shortly after noon of the next day when their carriage finally, reached Arelate. They had traveled straight through the night, but even with three changes of horses, carriage travel was significantly slower than Chloe's original estimate via horseback.  
  
Fortunately, the stable where they had made an early morning stop for fresh horses also had an inn attached. They were able to purchase some fresh bread, honey, and fruit to serve as breakfast. While not quite the hearty meal Clark's Mom felt was appropriate to start the day or the bowl of Fruit Loops Lana preferred, it did help get the day off to a good start.  
  
At least until Lex made the casual comment to Chloe about arranging an expedition to South America to acquire some coffee beans, if they were stranded here much longer. Lex meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth he felt Lana tense up beside him. For an excruciatingly long 60 seconds no one said anything.  
  
Finally, Lana said quietly, "When they return with the coffee beans, we will have to open the first 'Talon' franchise in Rome. Do you think the Egyptian motif will work as well in Rome as in Smallville?"  
  
Chloe started laughing. When the others looked at her, she said. "Sorry, I was just imagining a 'Talon' in ancient Rome, but with a 1950's drive-in style. You know waitresses in little red and white uniforms. On roller- skates. Of course, we would have to make the skates and teach them how to use them. Just think of the possibilities."  
  
Lex just stared at her like she was crazy. "Uh, Chloe, do you remember a roller-skating crazy sweeping the Roman Empire about this time?"  
  
Chloe was still grinning, but shook her head no.  
  
"Don't you think that would change our future, just like a renegade army led by some guys from the 21st century would change our future?" continued Lex.  
  
Chloe snorted, "Come on, Lex. A roller-skating craze is not quite the same thing as overthrowing the dominant civilization of the era. Lots of surprising things have occurred down through time that never made it into the history books."  
  
"Name one." said Lex.  
  
"That's easy," responded Chloe. "In 438 BC a group of Greek scholars in Corinth built a fully functional steam engine. They had it operating off and on for almost two years, but never made that leap to a useful application like a steamship or railroad or pumping water out of underground mines. When I heard about this device I made my way to Corinth to give them a nudge in the right direction. Unfortunately, I arrived two months after a boiler explosion killed off all of the key participants. It was impossible at that point to get anyone interested in continuing the experiments. But just think if I could have arrived before the explosion, steam power might have developed around 400 BC, instead of 1800 AD. So if I had been a little closer to Greece at the time, the world might be a much different place, but instead the whole incident has been lost to history."  
  
They continued to discuss other lost opportunities and their implications until their meal was finished and the carriage was ready to proceed.  
  
Once underway again, the morning was spent on Latin lessons. Just like the morning before, Chloe set the lessons to song. It quickly became a contest to pick a song and see how quickly Chloe could come up with the words. Her only restriction was that the songs had to be from Broadway, TV and the movies, since those were her personal favorites.  
  
They had just finished a series based on the TV theme songs for 'Happy Days', 'Gilligan's Island', and Clark's request for 'Good Ol' Boys' from the Dukes of Hazzard when Lex requested 'Hey, Big Spender' from Sweet Charity.  
  
Chloe was running the original music and lyrics through her head looking for inspiration on what to teach with this song when they crested a hill and the driver called out that Arelate was in sight. As the others leaned out to look at their day's destination, the music continued to play through her head:  
  
'The minute you walked in the joint, I could see you were a man of distinction, A real Big Spender, good looking, so refined. Say wouldn't you like to know what's going on in my mind? So let me get right to the point, I don't pop my cork for ev'ry guy I see. Hey! Big Spender, Spend a little time with me.'  
  
God, that song brought back memories of a simpler time to Chloe. Even when it came out in 1965 it was already something of an anachronism. The whole Beatles-hip era had been in full swing for several years and the movie had felt so fifties. Definitely it fell on the wrong side of the cusp of a major change in musical styles and public tastes. Still, it had been a catchy tune.  
  
While Chloe struggled to get past her memories of a pleasant summer evening spent in a dark, air-conditioned theater with her boyfriend at the time and focus her thoughts on setting some Latin phrases to the melody, Clark interrupted her thoughts.  
  
"I think it is time for a break from the Latin," he began. "How about a guided tour of the highlights of Arelate?"  
  
Chloe happened to be looking at Lex and noticed the hint of disappointment in his eyes. With a quick glance outside and seeing they had at least ten minutes before they would reach the city proper, she said. "How about a compromise? I really enjoy this song, so let's just do it in English. Since you suggested it, Lex, I am guessing you know the words?"  
  
When he nodded she continued, "Okay, the rest of you jump in for the chorus."  
  
So as the carriage passed through the city gates they were all shouting at the top of their voices: "Hey! Big Spender, spend a little time with me."  
  
-----  
  
After everyone had settled back and caught their breath, Chloe suddenly leaned forward with that special grin only she could do and then started speaking with a really bad, fake French accent. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am Brigette with the Arelate Tourist Bureau. I will be your guide on today's fun tour of historical Arles, France or Arelate, Gaul, as it is known in the local vernacular. Don't hesitate to interrupt with any inane, pointless, or just plain stupid questions you may have, that's what I am here for." During this little speech her voice and manner changed until it perfectly mimicked the behavior only a true Parisian can achieve when haughtily speaking down to an uncultured American.  
  
Lex started laughing as he remembered a French woman his father had required him to escort to a gala charity event in Metropolis six months ago. The woman had had the exact same voice and attitude Chloe had just been projecting. By the end of that evening he couldn't decide which fantasy was more appealing; finding out where in Paris she lived and building a McDonald's directly across the street, or just covering her mouth with a piece of duct tape.  
  
While the thought of being trapped in the ancient Roman Empire or even dying here made the last few days among the scariest in his life, Lex also marveled how they had also been among the most fun. It seemed like he had laughed and smiled more than in the previous eight years combined.  
  
"Well, Brigette," began Lex but then he couldn't get his voice back under control and fell back to giggling.  
  
"Zuch zilly Americanz," grinned Chloe. Then she briefly dropped out of character and spoke to Nicholas in Latin. "LNickie, I want to do a quick tour of town before heading to my estate. Please tell the driver to swing by the harbor and then up through the center of town and then on to the estate."  
  
Nicholas nodded and slid the small window open to quietly address the drivers.  
  
Then Chloe turned back to the others and reverting to her bad French accent started her version of a brief tour/history lesson about Arelate. "Arelate is a much older town than either Tolosa or Narbo. Unlike those towns, which had originally been established as Roman garrisons, Arelate was founded by the Phoenicians nearly 700 years ago. The Phoenicians were a great sea-faring race in the pre-Roman era. Much of their wealth came from trading in gold and silver, abundantly available at the time from mining operations in Spain.  
  
"The Phoenicians founded colonies all along the northern and southern coastlines of the Mediterranean since limitations in their navigational tools meant they stuck mostly within sight of shore. They founded numerous towns, the most famous of which is Carthage in North Africa of Hannibal fame."  
  
"Hannibal, as in Hannibal and the elephants, who attacked Rome?" asked Lana.  
  
"The very same," nodded Chloe. "Actually, rather than starting directly from Carthage, he started out from Spain about 250 years ago and crossed the Rhone river not too far from here on his way to Italy. His father had been a general for Carthage serving in Spain from the time Hannibal was nine. Hannibal mostly grew up in Spain until he went to battle with Rome. His army spent over ten years fighting in Italy. When he was finally defeated and returned to Carthage, it had been over 36 years since he had last been there. Like a lot of generals down through history, he spent much of his life in the field. You have to wonder if he even remembered what he was fighting for."  
  
"So, Brigette," started Lex again having finally gotten his voice back under control. "Where elephants really effective in battle?"  
  
"Well, we haven't seen too many elephants here in Arelate, so perhaps Chloe better field this one." Here Chloe dropped her French accent and reverted to her normal voice. "The shock value the first time an army came up against elephants could win it for the side with the elephants. If you had never seen one before, to have thirty or forty or more charging at you en mass, bellowing and decked out in bells and other noise-makers was extremely scary. A good general might lose that first battle against elephants, but if he could disengage without being routed and if he could convince his men that there was nothing magical about them, he might still win a second encounter. It might be difficult, but it could be done. By the second battle the general with the elephants needed to implement good deployment practices with the flanks of the elephant regiments properly defended. If the enemy was allowed to get behind the elephants, they could be defeated."  
  
Chloe was just about to continue when Lana suddenly broke in. "Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit."  
  
End of Chapter 20 


	21. Portal Chapter 21

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 21  
  
Lana just keep chanting 'Oh, shit' over and over as Chloe looked over sharply at her. Lana's eyes were fixed with a horrified stare out the coach window. In the brief moment Chloe watched her, Lana went from ghostly white to the slight hint of green that indicated she was about to be violently ill.  
  
It only took a glance out the window for Chloe to realize what was wrong. They were headed towards the docks along the riverfront when they had come upon a row of ten crucified men. Well, what had been men, most of them had been dead for several days. And it was not some sanitized, PG-rated version like you saw in the movies. No, these men had not died pleasantly; their limbs had been savagely broken and were skewed at unnatural angles. The bodies were bloated and darken from several days in the sun. They were covered with maggots and clouds of flies. Each body had three to eight blackbirds or crows ripping at the flesh. The eyes were gone. Sections of white skull showed through where parts of the scalp had been ripped away. Ribs exposed where the birds had worked to get at the juicy internal organs. Genitals pecked away.  
  
And the smell was unbelievably bad. Unfortunately, the coach was passing on the downwind side of the crosses. Even Chloe, who had experienced these sensations countless times before, experienced a brief wave of nausea before her 'bot system attenuated her senses of smell and taste.  
  
Chloe quickly spoke in her most commanding tone to force everyone's attention to her. "Look at me. Do not look out the window. Breath through your mouths."  
  
Chloe quickly reached into the bag of provisions they had bought at their breakfast stop and pulled out an orange. She ripped it open and tried to press a piece against Lana's face to counteract the smell from the rotting corpses, but it was too late. Lana barely got the coach door open on the opposite side from the hanging bodies when she started to vomit.  
  
Lex grabbed Lana around the waist to keep her from falling out. But between the sight and smell of the bodies and Lana's reaction, Lex was rapidly approaching the point of hurling too.  
  
Chloe took the orange she had tried to give to Lana and jammed a large piece into Lex's mouth. After rubbing her sticky fingers under Lex's nose, she turned to Clark and offered him the remainder of the orange. As Clark reached out his hand, the coach suddenly braked to a halt.  
  
'Great,' thought Chloe. 'What now?'  
  
Turning to the opposite door from Lex and Lana, she leaned out through the window to look forward and see why they stopped. With a detached clinical glance she noticed they had stopped next to the last man on a cross, whose body was the most disturbing of the lot. The belly had been sliced open and several large ropes of intestines dangled out. From the clean, sharp edges of the cut Chloe could tell this was not from the activities of the scavenger birds. No, the men who had crucified this man had sliced him open with a sword so he could watch his guts hanging out as he slowly and painfully died.  
  
It had been almost a hundred years since the terror on the western front during the First World War when Chloe had last seen such savage deaths. She thought that by the 21st century she had finally left all of this behind. With a shake of her head she tried to put her thoughts of past atrocities behind her and focus on the current situation.  
  
Chloe looked forward to see that the driver had merely stopped while a wagon ahead of them, filled with wine casks and pulled by eight slow oxen, was negotiating a turn onto a narrow side street. The stop had nothing to do with the crucified men, a scene the driver had doubtlessly seen hundreds of times before.  
  
Chloe yelled up to the driver. Getting his attention she asked. "LDo you know where the Flavian shipping office is down at the waterfront?"  
  
When the driver nodded Chloe directed him to stop there when they reached the harbor. In another minute the coach started to move again. Once they were well clear of the horrific scene, Chloe extracted herself from the window where she had been using her body to block the others' view.  
  
Lex and Lana were back on the back seat of the coach. Lex had his arms wrapped around her and was talking into her ear in a soothing tone, but Lana was still shaking violently.  
  
Chloe looked over at Nicholas who was watching Lana with a mixture of amusement and disgust on his face. When he felt her gaze, he turned to her and she said. "LSometimes I wonder who the real barbarians in the world are. We have art and literature, magnificent architecture, and a continent spanning empire. But Lana's little kingdom doesn't have slavery or death by torture and crucifixion. Who really is the barbarian?"  
  
"LYou can't have luxuries like art and culture without strength. Rome was built on the strength of slaves and sometimes it is necessary to be harsh with the malcontents to keep the majority in their place," stated Nicholas, espousing the standard response of a freeborn Roman.  
  
"LActually, Rome wasn't built by slaves, they were a later development," answered Chloe quietly knowing Nicholas wouldn't believe or care about her first hand knowledge of the origins of Rome.  
  
Lex, who had been following this conversation in Latin even though he had been mainly focused on Lana, asked Chloe in English with just a hint of anger in his voice. "Why did you let this happen?"  
  
"Lex, I had no idea we would pass this on the road today. Okay, I suspected it would happen at some point, but I don't know how to avoid it."  
  
"That's not what I meant. I mean the whole slavery and torture thing. With your gifts and abilities you could have changed the whole direction of mankind."  
  
"I'm sorry, Lex. I just never had the whole 'God' complex thing. It is just not in my nature. Oh, if you live long enough you generally drift to the top of society, but I never had the urge to run mankind. It is not my purpose in life. However if you want to change the world you are welcome to try. Of course, if you try to change the world it will be just the same as letting the Professor and his people overthrow Rome. History will change and we will have no way home. Do you want to spend the rest of your life here?"  
  
Lex knew he wanted to get Lana and the others and even himself home. But still wasn't it the duty of the smart and strong to make the world a better place for everyone? Was he heading in that direction with his life back home? This little incident raised a lot of important questions that he had never spent much time thinking about.  
  
After a couple more minutes of riding in silence the coach stopped again and Chloe recognized her families' shipping office right outside. She leaned over to Lana, "Let's get out and get some fresh air for a minute, it will help."  
  
Lana nodded weakly and Lex helped her to her feet.  
  
As they climbed out they were struck by the strong smell of fish. Overwhelming and normally offensive, but at the moment a definite improvement over the odor of human death and decay seeming to linger in the interior of the coach.  
  
The sun was warm and bright. The breeze was refreshing. After a couple of minutes the look of terror in Lana's eyes finally started to recede.  
  
Chloe tried to lighten the mood by again adopting the bad French accent and continuing her history of Arelate. "Arelate is located about ten miles up the Rhone River from the Mediterranean Sea. Near the sea the Rhone passes through a low, marshy delta area. The town was established on a low hill this far upstream to escape the malaria-ridden mosquitoes filling the marshlands.  
  
"The town grew greatly in importance and wealth starting 100 years ago when the Fossae Marianae shipping canal was dug by the Romans. The canal allows much larger ships to reach the town's harbor."  
  
Seeing that her monologue wasn't having the desired effect, Chloe gave up for the time being. 'I guess I better just focus on speeding us on our way towards our goal,' she thought. 'At least for the moment the fun seems to have gone out of this little adventure.'  
  
From where they stood outside the shipping office, Chloe could clearly make out the twenty nearest merchant ships lined up in the quays. She counted five ships flying her families' naval flags. Hopefully, one of them would meet her needs.  
  
Since a little color started to return to Lana's face, Chloe motioned them over to the shipping office. When they entered one of the clerks working behind the counter recognized Chloe from her last visit just over three years ago. After sending one of the other clerks to find the manager, he quickly came over.  
  
"LMa'am," he began with a very respectful tone. "LWe didn't realize you were in town. Laurentius should be out shortly. Can I get you some refreshments while you wait?"  
  
From her prodigious memory Chloe pulled up the clerk's name. "LThank you, Aegidius Eugenius, that would be greatly appreciated. How are Gratia and the children?"  
  
Aegidius' face took on a very pleased expression. Chloe had long ago learned that sometimes it was remembering the little details that made for happy and enthusiastic employees. And when you had a perfect memory, it wasn't that much extra bother.  
  
"LThank you for asking. My wife and children are all well. I will be back shortly with the refreshments." Then with a quick bow, the man scurried off.  
  
They barely had time to take in the large charts and maps hanging on the walls and the giant chalkboard mounted behind the counter filled with details of shipments coming and going when Laurentius Griselda, the office manager, strode briskly into the room.  
  
"LCoelia Doinysia Flavius, it is a pleasure to see you again," he said with a deep bow. "LPlease come up to my office where we can talk more comfortably."  
  
Chloe nodded for him to lead the way. They quickly followed him up a flight of stairs to a large, expansive room with a beautiful view out over the harbor. Before the introductions had even been completed, Aegidius arrived with three servants laden with wines, fruits, and cakes.  
  
Everyone settled on a semicircle of divans located on a balcony outside the office. The balcony was shaded by a trelliswork of rose vines. The hundreds of pink roses produced an almost intoxicating tea-like fragrance, finally removing the lingering traces from the crucifixions.  
  
After everyone had received the first round of refreshments, Laurentius politely asked, "LSo, I hadn't heard you were in town. What can I do for you?"  
  
"LI just arrived from Tolosa and haven't even been up to the villa yet to wash off the road dust. It is urgent that we get to Rome as soon as possible. What ships do we have heading in that direction?"  
  
"LHmm, the Grey Tabby is headed to Ostia," began Laurentius.  
  
Before he could continue Chloe quickly interrupted him. "LNo, that's not what I am looking for. Are any of the Leopards in port?"  
  
The Grey Tabby was such a benign name for a slave ship. Chloe knew none of the others would understand the realities of these times. Oh, they had been through the shock of the crucified men as they entered town and she had previously admitted to owning slaves, but they would never understand or forgive Chloe's involvement with the slave trade. There were some aspects of her life she wasn't yet ready to share, not even with Clark.  
  
Many of the merchant ships used a combination of oars and sails. Only a few like the Leopard class were pure sailing ships. While the slave transport ships were the worst with up to a 1500 slaves crammed on board, other merchant ships transporting a multitude of other products still might have several hundred slaves acting as oarsmen. Only the sailing ships had much smaller crews and few or no slaves. Traveling on one of these ships would be much more tolerable for the others and raise fewer undesirable questions.  
  
"LOnly the Golden Leopard and she is headed towards Valentia in Hispania," responded Laurentius.  
  
"L Is she still captained by Severus Gallus? What's her cargo?"  
  
"LYes, he is. Do you know him? The cargo is primarily wine from Lugdunum, upriver, and a shipment of silk from the east."  
  
"LOkay, see if you can track him down and bring him here. I want to be on my way to Rome today."  
  
"LToday," said Laurentius with a shake of his head. "LThe Golden Leopard wasn't schedule to leave until tomorrow and her crew is scattered all over town. Plus, if you are going to leave today, it will have to be in the next two hours to catch the tide."  
  
"LThen you better send some people right now to find Captain Gallus. Have them tell him it is me and if he has enough crew to set sail in two hours I will pay each crewman present a bonus of 300 sisterii and Gallus a bonus of 6000 sisterii. Also send someone up to the estate and have him fetch Carinus, the estate manager, back here. I have several tasks I need him to do. Oh, and ask Carinus to bring along one of my flutes. He will understand." At this point Chloe paused and Laurentius realized he was being dismissed to carry out her instructions.  
  
Laurentius inclined his head to her. "LGive me a moment to get things in motion." Clapping his hands he motioned one of the serving slaves forward. "LPlease accept the hospitality of my office and I shall return shortly." Then Laurentius hurried from the balcony, through his office and down the stairs with the clerk, Aegidius, in tow.  
  
Shortly before Laurentius had departed, Clark had risen from his divan and walked over to the railing and started looking up river. With her business concluded for the moment, Chloe wandered over to join him and see what had attracted his attention.  
  
Looking upstream between the forest of masts of the anchored merchant ships, Chloe could just make out the small fleet of six trireme military ships slowly working their way downstream. As she watched the precise, coordinated beating of the triple decks of oars, Chloe slid between Clark and the railing until her back was pressed firmly against his abs. Clark brought his arms around her waist and lowered his head until his chin rested against the top of her head.  
  
"Aren't they beautiful the way the water glistens off of the oars and the insect-like way the oars all move in unison?" asked Clark.  
  
Chloe was silent for a minute and then Clark could feel the big grin forming on her face without even seeing it.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Clark, are you a Three Stooges fan?"  
  
"Not really. Oh, I have seen them a few times on TV, but I was never a big fan. I guess I just never saw the humor of pretending to poke someone in the eye. Why do you ask?"  
  
"They were about more than just poking people in the eyes or bonking them over the head. But anyway, seeing those war galleys suddenly popped into my head one of their later movies, 'The Three Stooges meet Hercules'."  
  
"I guess I missed that one. Did they do a sequel where they meet Xena, too?"  
  
"Not the Kevin Sarbo Hercules. This movie was a parody of the Steve Reeves Hercules from the fifties."  
  
"So why does seeing those ships bring that Three Stooges movie to mind?"  
  
"Well, the basic plot has the boys being pharmacist assistants in Ithaca, New York. They help this inventor friend of theirs, Schuyler Davis, complete his time machine. Of course, through one of their usual slapstick comedy sequences the four of them, plus Schuyler's girlfriend, Diana, all get transported by the time machine to Ithaca in ancient Greece. Sort of like us.  
  
"The thing that brought it to mind was the part where the four guys end up slaves rowing on a ship like one of those. As they supposedly spend months at the oars, the only change in the Stooges is they all grow these enormous fake beards. But Schuyler really bulks up, except he is always rowing on one side of the ship so only one side of his body bulks up. Pretty soon he is rowing on one side of the ship all by himself and he is stronger than the entire team of rowers on the other side and the ship just goes in circles. So the Stooges switch him to the other side and soon he is built like Hercules all over. Eventually, they escape and the Stooges pass Schuyler off as Hercules and actually build Hercules' legendary reputation, because in the movie Hercules is just a lowly thug for a petty tyrant.  
  
"Anyway, Clark, do you think you could do that?" Chloe asked.  
  
"Do what?" Clark was a little confused as to the point of the whole movie synopsis.  
  
"You know, row one side of a trireme while the crew rows the other side?"  
  
Clark shook his head. "It doesn't sound too practical. That much force on an oar would snap it. If not, the blade of an oar couldn't displace sufficient water to equal the force of a hundred or more oars on the other side of the ship. I am afraid the physics of that movie scene just wouldn't work in the real world."  
  
Chloe sighed. "I didn't mean for you to take me literally." Wrapping her hands around his and giving them a squeeze she tried again. "So, Clark, do you think you could do that?"  
  
Clark got into the spirit of the moment. "Of course. In fact, if you got a couple of really long oars, I could just row the whole ship all by myself."  
  
Chloe turned around within Clark's arms and looked up into his eyes. "Can I call you Hercules?"  
  
Clark looked down into her eyes with a slight flush of embarrassment coloring his face. "I suppose, if it makes you happy. Ahh, don't you think that name might imply secrets best left unspoken?"  
  
"I guess," said Chloe as she ran her right hand up the back of Clark's neck and started pulling his head down for a kiss. "Perhaps I'll just call you M.H., for my Hercules."  
  
After a few seconds of an enthusiastic kiss, Clark pulled back and glanced over at Lex and Lana who were still sitting on a divan about twenty feet away quietly talking and holding hands.  
  
"Chloe, we haven't had any time alone since your revelation about the General and his legions marching down from Germany to overthrow Rome. Do you have any ideas on how we can stop them?"  
  
"Not yet. I am going to send some men to watch the three main passes through the Alps. When the Legions are spotted I'll have a message sent to Rome so we should have a few weeks notice.  
  
"Lana was right with her comment last night, the most important thing is to get the meteor rocks from the Professor. Once they are in our possession, I think our options will be a lot more open. Plus, if we neutralize the Professor and Venta, perhaps we can get General Domicius to back down without a major battle."  
  
"Do you really think we can take this general without a fight?" asked Clark with relief showing in both his face and voice.  
  
"I hope so, unless you want to do your personal impression of the 300 Spartans versus the Persians? Do you really want to stand in a narrow mountain canyon and kill wave after wave of soldiers until the bodies are piled up thousands deep? Because that is what it would come to since the method of just tying them up like last night is not going to work against 40,000 men."  
  
Clark shook his head. "I don't want to kill anyone. I sure hope we can come up with a solution that doesn't involve some big battle."  
  
"Me, too. That's why I am arranging a ship to expedite getting us to Rome. If the Professor travels all the way by horseback, we might still beat him. And if possible I would like to deal with Venta before he is in contact with the Professor and finds out we are here or that I am not the same me that he knows. This may be a mean and petty thing to say, but even after two thousand years, I am still pissed at Venta for driving me out of Rome. I think it is time for a little payback."  
  
Clark was a little startled at the level of anger boiling just under her surface. This was a notch beyond the normal 'Chloe feistiness', but he just attributed it to their earlier encounter with the crucifixions. While he hadn't had the violent reaction of Lana, it had bothered him a lot and he assumed it had bothered Chloe too. He thought back to his own experience with being strung up on a cross in the cornfield during homecoming, but it wasn't nearly the same thing. The football players hadn't really intended to kill him or even hurt him seriously.  
  
"If you need any help getting even with Venta, just say the word. I don't like other guys messing with my girl, even if it was two thousand years ago." Then Clark pulled Chloe close and returned her earlier kiss.  
  
---------------------  
  
After Laurentius left and Chloe joined Clark at the railing, Lex turned his attention to Lana. Not that he ever took his full attention from her since they had gotten out of the coach, always trying to at least maintain physical contact, if only touching her fingers. But during Chloe's conversation with Laurentius he had focused most of his attention on them.  
  
"Hey, Lana, good news, how much of that conversation were you able to follow?"  
  
"Not a lot, just a few words here and there." Lana looked at Lex with the first glimmer of smile since before they had come upon the crucified men. "So what is the good news?"  
  
"As horrifying as seeing those bodies was, it seems to have really lit a fire under Chloe. She is in the process of commandeering a ship that was on its way to Spain to take us to Rome. If all goes well, we should be on our way today and could be in Rome in four or five days."  
  
Lex shook his head. "I don't know where we would be if Chloe was just the normal girl we thought she was before this whole adventure. Without her knowledge, connections, resources, . . . I am afraid we would still be back in Tolosa or worse, captives or dead."  
  
"Yeah," agreed Lana. "But she could've warned us about things like the crucifixions. I mean I have seen them in some of the old movies, but to just come on them without warning was such a shock."  
  
Lex nodded. "It surprised me too. Sometimes her whole thought process is hard to follow. On the one hand it seems like Chloe is trying to protect us from some of the barbarism of these times. Unfortunately, this might get us in trouble some day when we need to blend in with the locals and we will react badly to a situation that is normal here.  
  
"On the other hand, it is becoming apparent Chloe tends to think and act at a different pace then I would. I mean if we don't keep pushing her, I think she would be just as happy if it took several years to get back home as if it took several weeks."  
  
"Do you really think so?" Asked Lana.  
  
"Yes. I think if it was purely up to her, we would have spent several weeks hanging with her friends back in Tolosa. Then we would have stopped here for a few more weeks before finally undertaking a leisurely trip to Rome."  
  
"What about the whole issue of this army heading towards Rome that shouldn't be? Don't you think Chloe would hurry up to stop it?"  
  
"I don't know," answered Lex. "That's one of the things that is a little scary about her. I get this feeling she doesn't perceive this army as a very significant threat and I don't understand why. Either she has additional abilities she hasn't yet told us or she has more influence here than she has admitted, or maybe she has been through so many similar situations in 17,000 years it just doesn't scare her."  
  
Lana softly reached out and turned Lex's head until he was looking into her eyes. "Does Chloe scare you?"  
  
"Hmm, does Chloe scare me? I never really thought about it before. She certainly intimidates the hell out of me. Face it, for all practical purposes she is the next step beyond Homo Sapiens on the evolutionary ladder. If there were more people like her or if the one person with her gifts had been an aggressive adult rather than a 16 year old girl, the world would be a drastically different place."  
  
"What do you mean, an aggressive adult?"  
  
"Just think if the one person with her gifts had been a Hitler or a Stalin or even a Churchill in their prime. Any one of them with the ability to live forever and instantly heal from wounds would, good or bad, end up ruling the world. Perhaps mankind has been lucky that the one person who has those gifts is a young girl who is more interested in enjoying life than taking over the world."  
  
Lex took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Anyway back to your original question, does Chloe scare me? I guess the answer is yes, at least a little."  
  
Lana ran her hand up and caressed Lex's left ear for a moment remembering his comment from the massage at the baths. Had it been only two days ago? Things had changed so much since then, including her whole relationship with Lex.  
  
"Lex, I'm sure Chloe will put our interests first until we get back home."  
  
"I know. Maybe that's the problem. It seems like only since I have come to Smallville that I have finally gotten out of my father's shadow and taken control of my own destiny. And it felt really good. But now, here, I am no longer in control. Just like with my father, it feels like Chloe isn't explaining everything that is going on, so I can't get a handle on things. It is all very frustrating."  
  
"Chloe is not like your father. If we talk to her, I am sure she will open up." Lana gave Lex an impish little smile. "And if not, can't we just pretend we are on a special little vacation trip? Like the ultimate Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Westworld adventure all rolled into one? I mean between school and the Talon, I can't remember the last day I had off. How about you? When was the last vacation you've had?"  
  
Lex shrugged. "Before I came to Smallville, I guess. So are you really suggesting we let Chloe handle the whole situation and just pretend to be on some exotic vacation?"  
  
"Partly. We need to keep Chloe moving forward and help out where we can, but ultimately she is the one with the financial and political clout here. If we are going to make it home, it is going to come down to her."  
  
Lex marveled how he thought he was the one trying to help Lana through this situation, but at the moment it seemed like she was the one resiliently bouncing back and he was the one ending up needing her support.  
  
Just then the sound of drums that had slowly built in intensity finally registered on Lex's consciousness. Over screeching of seagulls, creaking of wooden ships tied up to the wharves, and noise of workers busily loading and unloading ships and wagons, the beating of drums caused Lex to look north up the river. From his seated position he couldn't see the source, but could see that Chloe and Clark were both looking upstream.  
  
Standing up and pulling Lana to her feet, Lex said. "Come on, let's see what's going on."  
  
They walked over and joined the others by the rail. Following Chloe and Clark's gaze upstream they could see the six Roman men of war that would soon pass their position on their way downstream to the Mediterranean. The ships were rigged to carry one small rectangular sail, but with the current northerly breeze the sails were furled and the ships used the current and their oars for their forward progress. The drumbeats that had attracted Lex's attention were coming from these ships and controlled the cadence of the oars.  
  
"Ramming speed," said Lex quietly.  
  
Chloe glanced over at Lex, "That naval battle in Ben-Hur did a surprisingly good job of capturing the essence of life on a Trireme considering it was all done with miniatures and scaled down ships in water tanks."  
  
" Trireme?" asked Lana.  
  
"I guess we haven't got to that word yet in our Latin lessons. Perhaps we need to spend some time on nautical terms during our next session since it looks like we will be spending a few days aboard ship. Trireme is the term for a ship with three banks of oars like these ships. Most Roman fighting ships have two or three banks of oars. Only the Venetians in the mid 15th century would surpass them with a ship design using four banks of oars, but that configuration was really past the point of diminishing returns and wasn't used for long."  
  
"Was life as bad aboard those ships as it appeared in the movie?" asked Lex.  
  
Chloe gave Lex a look that said that was a particularly stupid question. "Were the crucified bodies more pleasant than you saw in the movies? Of course, life aboard those ships is as bad as the movies, or worse. Only men condemned to death are used as oarsmen. It is the worst punishment assignment available except maybe being a gladiator. And even gladiators spend only a small portion of their time in actual combat. This is backbreaking labor for ten to twelve hour a day. The only good thing is that in the last sixty years, since Augustus became emperor, Rome has not had any serious opposition in the Mediterranean only the occasional pirates. Therefore the number of war galleys has been greatly reduced and the total number of slaves needed has been lessened. During the great civil wars before Augustus obtained control or during the Punic wars with Carthage great fleets with thousands of warships existed. There were several sea battles where the death toll was in the hundreds of thousands."  
  
"God, this place is barbaric." whispered Lana with a shudder.  
  
"Yeah, it is," began Chloe. "Which is why I am trying to speed things up. One of my families' sailing merchant ships is in port. Many of the merchant ships like the warships use a combination of sails and oars, however we do have a class of ships that were pure sailing ships except for a pair of steering oars. These ships are slower, but more efficient over longer distances. While the slaves that man the oars aren't paid, you still have to feed them. We could shave a day or two off the travel time to Rome with an oared ship, but I think the improved smell, lack of crowding, and general quietness will make using a pure sailing ship much more pleasant.  
  
"If I can track down enough of her crew in time, I hope to be on our way to Rome today."  
  
"What about that general and his army?" asked Lana, voicing Lex's concerns.  
  
"I have sent for the man who runs the estate here in Arelate. I am going to have him send some of his most trusted men to watch the three main passes through the Alps. If they spot the army, they will get word to us in Rome. I think we have a few weeks before we need to act."  
  
"How do we stop an army?" asked Lex hoping Chloe would let them in on her plans.  
  
"The best way to stop the army is to convince them to turn around and go back to Germany. I hope we can deal with the Professor and Venta first and then maybe the general will just back down. Failing that, I have had some dealings with Caligula in the past. He might be persuaded to make a tour of northern Italy at the right time. His presence and a few thousand talents of gold might convince the Legions to turn around. If that fails, it may come to an actual fight. With the right words whispered in the right ears, it should be possible to get the general charged with treason. If his troops remain loyal to him, there are other legions that can be used against him, but hopefully it won't come to that. At the moment the key is getting to Rome, the number of options will be greatly increased once I am there."  
  
Chloe looked wistfully out across the calm waters of the river. "There are things about Rome you need to understand before we get there. That small group of crucified men we saw this morning is nothing compared to what you are going to see when we reach Rome. In many ways the provinces we have been traveling through seem more civilized than Rome. With its massive overcrowding, teeming poor living on the free corn dole provided by the government, the gladiatorial games and the cruelty of its upper classes, well, Rome is going to seem a lot more barbaric than anything we have seen so far. If I knew for certain the extent of the Professor's influence and his plans here, I would prefer to leave you here and go on to Rome by myself. But for the time being it feels safer if we stick together. So be prepared to see a lot worse than we have seen today and I hope you don't all end up with a lifetime of nightmares."  
  
'Shit,' thought Lex. 'I guess that addresses a few of my questions. If Chloe really thinks those crucified men were trivial compared to what we are going to find in Rome, maybe ignorance really was bliss.'  
  
Just then Laurentius returned and Chloe walked over to get things in motion for the voyage to Rome.  
  
End of Chapter 21 


	22. Portal Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Part 1

It was mid-afternoon when the harbor in Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber came into view. Six days had passed since their departure from Arelate. The Golden Leopard could have made the trip in less time, but Chloe had insisted that they put into port each evening. The Italian coast was equipped with a long string of lighthouses; however she had explained that more ships were lost to rocks at night than any other cause.

While most of the crew, except for some guards, disappeared into the taverns each evening, Chloe had suggested they remain on board in the relative safety of the Captain's cabin, which the four of them had usurped for this voyage. The cabin was surprisingly spacious during the day with much of their time spent up on deck, but the first night found them all huddled together on the single bed to stay under the mosquito netting and away from the ravenous hordes.

In the last six days the only time the four of them had left the ship was the second evening when the ship made port in Genua. Chloe had friends she trusted there and they had spent a night in their villa. The baths in this villa were a lot more modest than the large public facilities they had experienced in Tolosa, but after days of traveling by horse and ship, they were extremely welcome.

Leaning against the railing of the ship Lex had to smile as he remembered the evening in the baths in that villa in Genua. A lot of the morals and hang-ups that came with 21st century life had been done away with when the four of them had ended up together in the large warm bath and afterwards in the massage room with lots of fragrant oils. It was definitely the brightest spot on this voyage. Lex was just hoping that the baths in Chloe's estate in Rome were as good as she said. So far Chloe had been right; the Romans were the masters of bathing. He was already planning some serious remodeling of his castle in Smallville when they got home.

As Lex continued to gaze out towards the harbor with its staggering amount of shipping traffic, Chloe wandered up to the rail and joined him. He glanced over taking in the casual robe she was wearing and the flute that seemed to be continuously at hand since they had left Arelate. After a week back here, the Roman Empire was starting to feel real and 21st century Smallville just a dream. Even Clark and Lana's Latin was improving to where they could more or less communicate with the crew.

Lex glanced back to the stern of the ship where Lana and Clark were seated getting the afternoon's Latin lesson from the old Greek scholar, Cyrus, whom Chloe had scrounged up during their stop in Genua. Once Chloe had gotten past the basics she had turned most of the lessons over to him. He had been a teacher for a long time as he had patience not learned overnight.

Both Clark and Lana had spent most of every day of the voyage focusing on learning Latin. And ever since the encounter with the crucified bodies back in Arelate, neither of them had voiced any complaints about the time spent, realizing the importance of being able to communicate.

Not that sitting through lessons was anything like torture as Lex watched Lana stretched out on a divan under a canopy for shade, a young slave girl kneeling beside her feeding her the occasional grape. Chloe had played up the whole Lana as Princess of Caledonia story when they had boarded the ship and ever since the whole crew had gone out of its way to fawn over her. Not that any of them had gotten out of line as Lana had immediately made a point of showing she was with Lex. Still it was interesting to see that mingling with royalty had the same effect on people here as back in his own time.

Chloe had started to play her flute and after a few seconds Lex realized it was the 'Hey, Big Spender' song from the day in the coach. Lex just closed his eyes and listened until Chloe finished.

"Lex, I am curious about this song. It seems important to you, but you never struck me as a show tune sort of guy."

Lex shrugged. "It was one of my Mom's favorites. Towards the end we listened to it a lot. Listening to it now helps me to remember her smile, her laugh, the way the creases formed around her eyes when she was happy."

"You still miss her a lot."

"Yeah, for a long time that was the happiest part of my life."

"Until?"

Lex looked over at Chloe and realized what she wanted him to say. Say out loud. Make it real. "Until this trip back here and connecting with Lana. Here we are trapped in the Roman Empire with a high probability of ending up tortured and killed, yet I am happier now than any time I can remember."

Chloe reached out and rested her hand on Lex's. "It's okay to be happy. You and I never spent much time together since you arrived in Smallville, but I have never seen you so relaxed and comfortable as during the past week. If your Mother was here now, I am sure she would be happy for you and Lana."

Lex smiled. "I think you are right. I realized over the past few days that Lana is the first woman I ever wished I could have introduced to my Mom. I think they could have been good friends. Maybe that's part of the reason Lana seems so special."

Lex sobered up a little. "Chloe, do you think Lana and I can make it work when we get home? I mean the longer we are here, the more this seems like reality and our life in Smallville just a dream. But when we get home, Lana is still just sixteen and in high school."

"Lex, if you both want it to work, you will find a way. You are looking at the all time expert on sixteen-year-old girls. You have two primary choices as far as continuing your relationship when we get back home. The first choice is to be very, very discreet until Lana turns eighteen. The second choice is marriage. If that is the right choice, I am sure we can get Nell's consent. But there is no need to rush things, it has only been a week and it looks like it will still be a while before we can return home. Relax. Enjoy your time with Lana and worry about what happens back in Smallville once we get there."

The M word. It had been drifting around in the back of Lex's head ever since the conversation in the coach about Chloe's double wedding to Julian. Something that would happen somewhere out in the future. But maybe Chloe was right. Maybe the best time might be as soon as they got back home.

"Chloe, thanks for the talk. Why is it so easy to talk to you about this?"

Chloe grinned. "This is not the first conversation like this I have had. I have had the 'love' conversation with lots of daughters and sons. Just follow your heart and always be open with her about your feelings. If you are, I think you will find your life to be much happier."

Lex nodded.

An hour later the Golden Leopard was tied up to one of the Flavian family wharves in the northeast corner of the Ostian harbor. Lex was amazed they had arrived at the wharf without a collision with another ship. He had never seen such a busy harbor. Chloe explained that it was the busiest harbor in the whole Mediterranean with nearly every product sold in Rome passing through it. And Rome consumed a lot of goods. An average day saw 25 ships filled with corn and grain arriving from Egypt alone. Even most goods shipped from other areas of Italy arrived by water due to the reduced shipping costs. Until the advent of trains many centuries in the future, no land transportation method could compete with shipping.

However a large portion of the goods arriving in the port of Ostia did make the final seven-mile journey to Rome over land. The Tiber was a fast flowing river requiring most ships to be rowed or towed against the current by slaves or draft animals walking along the banks. For the larger sea-going vessels this was not practical, so they were off-loaded in the harbor either into wagons or barges for the trip upriver.

Once the gangway was in place Chloe led the others and Cyrus, the scholar, ashore and turned to head for the company office. As they were leaving the ship there were many shouts of farewell to Princess Lana. After she shyly waved at them, she turned back and found Chloe grinning at her.

"What?"

"They might not have TVs, radios, or telephones, but by tomorrow word of the exotic, mysterious Princess Lana will be all over Ostia and much of Rome," explained Chloe.

"What? Is that why you have me wearing this veil across my face? You're not wearing one and neither is anyone else that I can see."

"No, the veil is for a far more practical purpose. Take a deep breath and tell me what you smell."

Lana took a deep breath. "Mostly a very strong lilac smell with just a faint hint of the sea and fish."

Chloe glanced over at Lex. "How about you, Lex?"

"Well, it is not as bad as the crucified men back in Arelate, but the smell is pretty bad and strong." With a grin he concluded, "Hey, could I wear a veil, too?"

"This is one of the areas were male historians get things wrong. In lots of time periods down through history women didn't wear veils because of some male dominance thing. No, they were just smart enough to realize that a scented veil made traveling in public more pleasant. It is just one of those 'woman' things that is passed down from generation to generation.

"Veils were not used by many women in Rome during this time period, but by at least a few. Wearing that will seem a little exotic, but not totally freakish." Chloe pulled a small vial from her robe. "I picked up this special perfume back in Genua to treat the veil and it should last an hour or two. When it seems to be wearing off let me know and I will apply some more. The sense of smell is much stronger than vision as a triggering mechanism, so wearing the scented veil should help to keep from getting sick again if we run into a situation like before."

Part 2

"Wow, that was cool. I actually followed most of the conversation." Clark said as they exited the shipping office. "However I am not clear why we going to Rome by boat. Wouldn't a coach be faster?"

"I'm glad to hear your Latin is getting that good, Clark. How about you, Lana?" asked Chloe.

"Yeah, most of it. Cyrus' methods have been very effective."

Chloe nodded. "Great. Okay, about the boat. Yes, a coach would be faster except for one thing. Rome has this one archaic rule that has been in place since the very earliest days when it first consolidated from five separate hill top villages into one united town. 'No wheeled vehicles inside the city during daylight hours'. It sort of makes sense for all the little back streets and alleys where delivery wagons and coaches would block all pedestrian traffic. But several major boulevards have been created which bisect the city where prohibiting wheeled traffic just seems crazy. Plus by requiring all of the delivery wagons to work at night the city is incredibly noisy when most people are trying to sleep. However, whenever the subject is brought up in the Senate, it is always voted down.

"Anyway, if we took a coach, we would have to walk or take sedan chairs from the city limits to my villa. Unfortunately, my villa is on the far side of the city from where the road from Ostia reaches the city limits. It would take close to an hour on foot. Since my villa is right along the Tiber, if we go by boat, we can pull up right at my dock. I don't know about you, but it will be late in the afternoon when we arrive and I would just as soon hit the baths, grab some dinner, and crash for the night. There will be plenty of time for sightseeing tomorrow."

"Going straight to your villa and hitting the baths sounds good to me," said Clark with a big grin as he recalled their last 'bath'.

Before Lex could join in with his agreement, Chloe jabbed Clark in the ribs. Hard. "We'll have no more of that attitude." Then with a smile she continued. "At least until we are settled in at the villa."

Clark's grin only got a little smaller. "Okay, okay, but can I still put my arm around you?"

Chloe snuggled in close and whispered, "Please do."

Once they had rounded up Cyrus, Chloe led the way to the small dock where the boat, which would take them to Rome, was pulling up. The boat was much bigger than the others were expecting. It had only a single deck of oars, but twenty rowers per side. The stern of the boat had a large passenger area with room for at least ten people in extreme luxury. The boat was painted a festive bright red and decked out with countless brightly colored streamers and ribbons. Three slaves were busy unpacking several large baskets filled with food and wine.

Once Chloe climbed aboard she selected a divan and patted the spot next to her. Clark had barely sat down when a slave was there with wine goblets and a tray of fruit.

Clark knew that slavery was wrong, but at the moment there was nothing he could do about it, but sit back and enjoy it. He had never had a staff of servants like Lex, but could quickly see how this lifestyle could easily become additive.

Lex and Lana settled on the next divan so they would be close enough to chat, while Cyrus selected a seat on the far side of the boat to give them some privacy. After he was seated, he pulled a scroll out of his shoulder bag and settled back to work.

As soon as everyone was seated, the skipper of the boat had the crew cast off. Once the oarsmen on the port side of the boat had pushed off and reset their oars in the sockets, the boat pulled away and headed out towards the center of the river. Besides the rowers and the skipper, the boat had a drummer to keep the oars in sync and two men at the back to man the pair of steering oars.

As they entered the main part of the river it was apparent the Romans had implemented at least a minimum amount of traffic control, all of the vessels heading upstream were on the right side of the river and those heading downstream were on the left.

The skipper set a steady pace the rowers could maintain for several hours. It was fast enough that they started to pass the barges being towed along the shore. The first group of barges they passed were all fully loaded with corn. Each barge was being towed by what looked like 300 slaves. They were all singing songs and no one seemed to be abusing them with whips like in some old movie. With the amount of traffic that needed to be moved up river every day, the Romans had paved the shoreline for maximum efficiency.

Like any modern metropolis, Rome had spread towards its source of supplies until most of the riverfront from Rome to Ostia was lined with buildings - lots of warehouses, but a scattering of villas and temples too.

For the first ten minutes no one spoke. Everyone just relaxed enjoying the pleasant afternoon sun and the food. Lex particularly enjoyed watching Lana's attempts to eat and drink while wearing the veil until she finally gave up and dropped one side. She just hoped nothing too bad would happen out here in the middle of a river.

Finally, Lex broke the silence. "So, Chloe, where's today's history lesson?"

"Umm, let's see. Short version. Rome was founded. Rome grew. Rome conquered. I think that about covers it. Seriously I just don't feel in the mood to play history professor at the moment. Let's talk about something else."

"Hmm, how do you feel about playing science professor instead?" asked Lex.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Your nanotechnology."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "So here we are riding in a boat crewed by slaves on our way to the Rome of Caligula and you want to talk about nanotech?"

Lex shrugged. "We have some time to kill until we get to Rome and you don't want to talk about history or bathing, so why not?"

"What's your question?"

"How long do you think until we will be able to duplicate your gifts?"

"Oh, I would say roughly 34 years if things are left to proceed on their own. If I give the right people a little nudge, perhaps 27 years."

"You mean in 27 years everyone could live forever like you?" exclaimed Lana sharply enough to attract even Cyrus' attention. "So I could stay 43 forever?"

Cyrus had an innate natural ability with languages, which is what made him such a successful teacher. In fact, it almost seemed like he could learn a new one by just overhearing a few conversations. A lot like Chloe although her abilities were all based on the gift of a massive, internal computer processing system. Cyrus' abilities were all natural, just a lucky fluke of the way his brain was wired. Four days of teaching Clark and Lana Latin had also taught Cyrus a surprising amount of English. This group of four young people had the most unique conversations he had ever come across. These conversations were frequently incomprehensible due to the numerous references to things in their home culture that he couldn't follow. However he could follow the comment about staying 43 forever and none of them seemed to be joking.

Intrigued by this conversation, Cyrus got up from where he was sitting, wandered over to the food tray, and after selecting several pastries casually sat on one of the divans much closer to the conversation.

Chloe smiled. "Well, only if current technology stops at the same point technology did in my original civilization. You have to remember I am effectively just a prototype."

"Prototype?"

"Yeah, think of it this way, I am like a 1940's era computer with most of my abilities hardwired as compared to a modern PC with lots of easily programmable features."

"So where do you think technology will go after it passes your configuration?" asked Lex.

"Oh, the next step is probably total body appearance control a lot like our old classmate, Tina Greer. You know, if everyone wanted to look just like Lana or their favorite movie star, they could."

"That would certainly raise a whole new bunch of legal issues," stated Lex.

"I don't care about the legal issues as long as people with those 'bots don't have the homicidal tendencies of Tina and all of those other meteor freaks," exclaimed Lana with a shiver as she recalled all of her near death experiences.

"Hey," responded Clark with a slightly defensive tone. "Chloe has made it 17,000 years with her 'bots and is just as sane as the rest of us."

"Are you sure, Clark?" asked Chloe. When he looked at her she was crossing and uncrossing her eyes and twitching her eyebrows.

"Chloe, that's juvenile, not insane."

Suddenly, Lana was pointing towards the shore. "Wow, Chloe, what's going on over there?"

The others all turned to see what had attracted her attention. At this point a bend in the river had brought it close to the road from Ostia to Rome. A large crowd was gathered around a giant triumphal arch that straddled the road. Musicians were playing and a group that would obviously be local dignitaries in any era were lined up on a raised platform.

"Oh, they are doing the dedication of a triumphal arch to some General." When Chloe realized Lana wasn't following, she continued. "Think of it like getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame back home. To get a star you have to have some 'name' value in the entertainment industry plus you or your people have to pay the cost of the star. This is sort of similar. A general can be awarded a triumphal parade through Rome if he wins a major battle that results in the deaths of at least 5,000 of Rome's enemies. However if he wants a Triumphal arch, he is expected to pay for it himself, which is why the potential for loot and booty drives many military campaigns rather than political or religious reasons. The arches are usually located on the roads leading into Rome to impress visitors. In a couple hundred more years, the routes into Rome started to look down right cluttered. Unfortunately, very few of them survived to our times. Most of them were scavenged for their marble during the Renaissance when the Roman church was going through one of its building booms."

"So, Chloe, does the general who wants his own arch have to arrange for all of the details of the project himself?" asked Lex.

"No, he just has to provide the money and a list of any special features. The Roman civil service department handles the actual construction, just like they handle the construction of other public works like roads, bridges, aqueducts, and temples. Actually, it is a lot like our times with most projects put out to bid to private contractors. For very large projects the contractors even form stock companies to raise capital and spread the risk in return for a share of the profit. These are among the earliest publicly traded stocks and are a precursor of the modern stock market."

"They actually have a stock market here?"

"Yes, many of the business practices of our time have their equivalent here. Banks have checking accounts and make installment loans. The emperor is like Alan Greenspan of the Fed setting interest rates for banks. Different emperors have loose or tight money supply policies, which has many of the same effects on this economy as on ours. Some emperors even try to use inflation and devaluation of the currency to solve their monetary woes."

Chloe could see the wheels turning in Lex's head. "A penny for your thoughts, Lex. Or should I say a sestertius?"

Lex smiled and was about to respond, when he thought better of it. He was going to comment about the business opportunities here for a modern businessman. While Lana had been slowly adjusting to the realities of being here, there was no point in potentially upsetting her with talk of the backup plans Lex had been working on in case they were stuck here permanently.

So instead he responded, "I was just noticing the buildings are getting more closely spaced, so I am guessing we are getting close to the city and therefore your villa. Now, this is going make me sound like a horny teenager, but I was thinking about a couple of beautiful naked girls. Chloe, do you have a massage room in your villa as nice as that room back in Genua?"

Chloe couldn't decide if Lex was joking or if he hadn't believed her comments that night in the coach about the grandeur of her place here in Rome. It looked like Lex might be in for a little surprise. "Oh, I think I can scrounge up a massage table or two. That massage you gave Lana back in Genua looked very hot and erotic. Would you be interested in using my body to teach it to Clark?"

Lex looked at Clark who gave a small nod. Clark had seen the intensity of Lana's response to that massage and if Chloe wanted Lex to teach him how it was done, he was happy to learn.

Next Lex looked to Lana. She leaned over to whisper in Lex's ear while at the same time resting one of her hands in his lap. "It is okay to touch her with your hands." And here she gave a gentle squeeze of her hand. "But some parts of this body are for me only. Understand?"

Lex nodded and brushed his lips over Lana's before turning back to Chloe. "I would be happy to teach Clark the special 'Luthor' massage technique."

Chloe grinned. Clark had a lot of enthusiasm, but a little improvement in technique never hurt. She had thought to use Analisa, her personal masseuse in Rome in this time period, but Lex would be more fun. Or perhaps she would eventually use both. "Great. And you are right, we are about to reach the city proper."

"Cool," said Lex sitting up a little straighter and trying to focus on the novelty of entering Rome. It's not often you enter the capital of an ancient empire. A city filled with gladiators, Praetorian guards, wild beasts in the arena, and untold other dangers, but it was hard not to think about two beautiful, soon to be naked, girls. "Can we see any famous buildings from the river?"

"Hmm, you can just see one end of the Circus Maximus where they do the chariot races. Also the Marcelli Theater and then Pompeii's Theater right before we reach my villa. Probably the most impressive sight is the Capitoline Hill with Augustus' palace, Tiberius' palace, and a couple of very traditional Greek-looking temples. When the late afternoon sun hits them just right they are very spectacular."

"What about the Coliseum?" asked Clark remembering the famous scene from Gladiator where Maximus looked up in awe when he first saw the Coliseum.

"I hate to disappoint you, but the Coliseum won't be built for another 40 years. Even if it was built, you couldn't see it from the river, as it will be located on the opposite side of the Capitoline hill from the river.

"At the moment the biggest 'coliseum' style stadium in Rome is the Statilus Taurus stadium built about sixty years ago. It seats about 22,000 compared to the 50,000 of the Coliseum. It was built mostly of wood and will eventually be destroyed in a fire."

"How about the Pantheon?" asked Lex.

"It won't be built for another hundred years either."

By this point the boat had reached the outskirts of Rome, the density of the buildings was becoming greater as well has their height. The riverfront was lined with two and three story warehouses, but behind them were many six and seven story tall, lower class tenement buildings.

So far in the week they had been back here, they hadn't seen anything that Lex hadn't seen before during the trip he took to the Middle East during the summer following his sophomore year in college. He had toured old cities in Turkey, Cyprus, and Israel that had existed for over a millennia that weren't significantly different from Tolosa, Narbo or Arelate except for the sporadic availability of electricity. But on his first true sight of the heart of Rome, he knew he was seeing something that could be found nowhere in the modern world. The gleaming marble temples. The seeming endless supply of carved columns. The people arrayed in robes and togas. The steady stream of sedan chairs. And not a mechanical sound to be heard, no cars, no buses, no trucks or trains. He really was in ancient Rome.

Lana was in a much less philosophical and much more practical mood. Therefore she decided it was a good time to take advantage of her veil again. Even though daily bathing was more common than in most ancient cultures and Rome's sewer system would not be equaled until the 18th Century, cramming a million and a half people into a few square miles still resulted in a pretty thick aroma.

Soon they were passing under the first of several large stone and concrete bridges. After passing the Capitoline hill with all of its grand palaces, they reached the single large island in the Tiber. Chloe pointed out the bridge extending from right behind the large Marcelli Theater to the island.

"Take a good look at this bridge. It's called the Pons Fabricius Bridge. It is a hundred years old now and it will still be in use in our times. Say what you will about their civilization, but their engineers knew how to build things to last."

"So, Lex, if we carved our initials into that bridge, do you think we could come back in two thousand years and see if they are still there?" asked Lana as she playfully ran her hand up the inside of his knee.

"You mean like carving them inside a heart on a tree? Perhaps if we get time, it might be fun to leave a memento to prove we were really here."

As the boat moved passed the island the buildings along the shoreline began to thin out.

"Chloe, it seems like we're starting to reach the end of the city. When will we reach your villa?" asked Clark.

"It is just around the next bend. Originally, it started as a country estate. As the city has grown it has almost reached it. Of course, as the city has grown and prospered, so has the villa. It has seen several extensive enlargements and remodelings. In another hundred years the city will have completely engulfed it and I will even be compelled to sell off some of the surrounding gardens for new public buildings."

Clark had noticed Chloe had been fidgeting with growing excitement for the past several minutes. "You are really looking forward to seeing this place again aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious? Yeah, I really am. This was always one of my favorite homes. And there are some really good friends here who I haven't seen in two thousand years. I mean when we ran into Marcus back in Tolosa it was such a shock, but I have had a week to anticipate the next few minutes. I am finding it hard to just sit here, my body wants so badly to jump up and down."

Finally, they rounded the bend, but because of the bluff that came down nearly to the shoreline, all that was visible were some rooftops. A quarter mile past the bend was the first of a pair of docks. This one was small and ornate, obviously designed for arriving dignitaries and other upper class guests. The other dock, a couple of hundred yards further upstream, was much more workman-like in appearance, rough hewn timbers and no hint of paint or decorative carvings.

Their boat pulled up at the first dock and several waiting servants lowered a gangway. After a pleasant thank you to the skipper of the boat, Chloe led the others up on to the dock. Before leaving the dock Chloe turned and pointed across the 50-yard wide river and slightly downstream.

"See that low hill over there?" she asked. "That is where Vatican City and St. Peter's Cathedral will someday be built."

After pausing for a couple of minutes for everyone to take in the view, Chloe turned and headed off of the dock and up the grand, fifty foot wide marble staircase, which led to the top of the bluff.

Upon reaching the top of the bluff, Clark, Lex and Lana just stopped and stared in amazement. To their right, separating them from the city proper, was a giant park-like area. Several hundred acres filled with olive trees, grapevines, and an assortment of flowering plants.

However it was the villa to their left that ultimately attracted their attention. A giant mass of sparkling white marble, the front of the structure, an amalgamy of interconnected buildings and porticoes, was several stories tall and extended out in front of them for over a quarter of a mile.

They stared at it in silence for almost a minute before Lana spoke. "Oh, my God. When you said it would make Lex's castle look like a hovel, you weren't kidding."

Chloe laughed. "From here you are seeing only the front facade. It is actually even larger than it looks. The main buildings cover almost two hundred acres. Come on, after we get settled in with a bath and some fresh clothes, I will take you on a quick tour."

Then, clasping Clark's hand, Chloe headed towards the main entrance.

End of Chapter 22


	23. Portal Chapter 23

Chapter 23  
  
[Author's note: To help understand the layout and scale of Chloe's estate, an artist's rendition is available at following location:  
  
h t t p : / / w e b p a g e s . c h a r t e r . n e t / d u a n e a a k r e / c h l o e s _ v i l l a . h t m  
  
Well, there must be some secret to uploading links to this site. Until someone can clue me in, you will have to strip the spaces out of the address above. Now, on with the story.]  
  
As Chloe started leading the way along the front of complex she pointed to the first couple of structures on the left. "Those two entrances are to the public areas of the estate. The first is to the Latin library and the second is to the Greek library. We have one of the largest collections of books in Rome, over 75,000 scrolls in modern terms. We keep the libraries open to the public for general research and have recently added a staff of scribes doing a booming little business producing copies. Nothing fancy like the illustrated books of the late Middle Ages, just relatively inexpensive copies of the classics or anything else you want copied."  
  
"So why don't you introduce the printing press?" asked Lex.  
  
"I would like to, but the Romans are very reactionary when it comes to developing new mechanical labor saving devices. Just like the Luddites in England who resisted the adoption of labor saving devices in the textile industry at the beginning of the industrial revolution, the Romans are afraid of upsetting their whole economic system. They don't have our 20/20 hindsight that says the people displaced by labor saving devices generally move up the economic ladder not down. So we end up with 20 scribes working here putting out perhaps 500 documents a month instead of a printing press and a smaller staff putting out 50,000 documents a month. Of course, if we got production up to 50,000 per month we would probably end up expanding the operation to where we would employ more than we do now. But this is one of those areas where you have to bend to the local customs regardless of your personal wishes."  
  
"I would love to check out the library," said Clark.  
  
"Perhaps tomorrow," stated Chloe as she turned back and looked over her shoulder at Cyrus, who was trailing along a few yards behind.  
  
"Cyrus, do you think Clark and Lana would benefit from learning to write Latin in addition to learning to speak it?" asked Chloe in Latin.  
  
"Yes, learning the written language frequently accelerates learning the spoken language. Perhaps tomorrow we could hold our study session in the library."  
  
A faint warning bell started to ring in Chloe's head. When she had first recruited Cyrus back in Genua he had stated he had never been to Rome. In the twenty years since he had migrated from Greece as a young man, he had always lived and worked up north. So why was he talking about the library? Had he merely heard of its reputation up there, or was his English good enough to follow the conversation? And if his English was that good, what had he made of their conversations about nanotech, living forever, and time travel? Perhaps she needed to come up with a simple test of his English abilities, if he wasn't forthright with her soon.  
  
However they were approaching the main entrance to the villa and the question of Cyrus' English abilities could wait until later.  
  
The main entrance was a majestic, three story tall structure. Two guards with ceremonial spears were stationed on either side of the twelve-foot tall double doors. The spears looked decorative, but were still fully functional. With a glance Lex could tell these guys were not 'Barney Fifes' of the security world. No, these looked tough enough to hold their own against any of the security operatives Lex had employed in the past.  
  
Just as they were approaching the guards and Lex was wondering if they would know Chloe and let them pass, a middle aged man briskly walked out of the entrance and marched straight up to Chloe.  
  
"Welcome back, Coelia," began the man with a small nod of the head. "Your suite will be ready in ten minutes and Analisa is waiting at the baths."  
  
"Efficient as ever, Rogerus. It is good to see you again. It feels like it has been almost forever."  
  
Here Chloe paused and motioned the others forward. "This is Lex, Lana, and Clark." As she mentioned his name she gave Clark's hand an obvious squeeze. Then gesturing back towards Cyrus. "This is Cyrus, a scholar who is traveling with us at the moment to help teach Clark and Lana Latin."  
  
Finally Chloe turned back to Rogerus. "Guys, this is Rogerus, he runs things here in Rome for my family."  
  
As each of them had been introduced, Rogerus had given them a penetrating stare. When his gaze was on Lex, the feeling of power and intellect this man projected amazed Lex.  
  
Lex asked softly in English. "I get the feeling he knew you were coming. How is that possible?"  
  
Chloe responded in Latin. "Lex, there is no need to be so secretive. Rogerus is about the most capable organizer I have ever known and I don't remember ever seeing him caught off guard. You would do well to find someone like him to run things for you back home. Rogerus, perhaps this once you could explain how you knew I was coming?"  
  
"Certainly, Coelia. First, let us move inside. A light repast is awaiting you in the solar room to tide you over until dinner."  
  
As Rogerus led them into the entrance hall, the others were once again overwhelmed with the grandeur of Chloe's estate. The entrance hall was dominated by a giant fresco on the left wall of a tremendous sea battle during the Second Punic war. Hundreds of trireme locked in a battle to the death. After having seen the six trireme cruising the Rhone back in Arelate and again another handful in the port at Ostia, they had a better grasp of the magnitude and realities of the battle represented in that painting than almost any other modern Americans.  
  
Other than a few small groupings of artworks and a secretarial desk near the entrance, this large thirty by sixty-foot room was mostly bare. The purpose of this room was not to entertain, but to merely impressive the first time or infrequent visitor of the family's wealth and power before proceeding on to the less public areas. And on first time visitors Clark, Lex, and Lana, it was achieving the intended effect.  
  
Rogerus was explaining how he kept a runner down at the Flavian shipping office in the Ostian port since most family members returning to Rome from other lands stopped there first, but Lex was barely listening. He felt drawn to the giant fresco and paused to stare at it while the others were proceeding towards the rear exit to the main part of the villa. He had seen Michelangelo's Sistine chapel ceiling, but this was easily its equal. The level of detail was what impressed him the most. Looking closely at two ships locked together in battle he could easily make out the individual crewmembers. The little he remembered about the fresco technique of painting in wet plaster said this should be impossible. It must be one more art method that had been lost down through time.  
  
As the others approached the exit, Chloe called out, breaking Lex's reverie. "Come on, Lex. You can come back here later. That fresco is best seen at mid-morning when it is directly hit by sunlight."  
  
Lex nodded and turned to follow them, wondering what else there was to see if this was only the first of many rooms.  
  
When he caught up the others were waiting in a large courtyard behind the entrance hall. Chloe quickly launched into a discussion of the various exits from this courtyard. The estate was almost like a giant maze of courtyards and buildings where it was easy to get lost until you had been there a while.  
  
"Okay, off to the left on the same side of this courtyard are the back entrances to the Greek and Latin libraries we came past when we arrived. Down at the far left on the opposite side is the entrance to the old original portion of the villa and past there is located the Golden Court used for much of the formal entertaining. The Golden Court is also accessible from the dock without passing through this portion of the villa. The Golden Court has a very nice terrace with pleasant views across the river to the hills beyond.  
  
"The exit straight ahead leads to another courtyard where many of the guest quarters are located. The furthest exit straight ahead but on the right leads to the family baths.  
  
"And this first door on the right leads into my private apartment. Well, that's most of the destinations at this end of the villa. A lot more of the estate extends off to the right, but let's wait for a tour after the baths for the rest of description.  
  
"Perhaps before we proceed I should explain a little about the setup here. For appearances, there are two primary branches to the Flavian family. The Roman branch is currently headed by Sextus Antonius Flavius, while my father, Henricus Arcus Flavius, heads my branch based in Asia Minor. The branches split several hundred years ago with the Roman branch obtaining all of the fame and glory. However, known only with the family is that most of the wealth is derived from my side of the family. Mostly the family here in Rome pretends the country 'hick' branch doesn't exist accept when they need extra cash to maintain their extravagant lifestyle. This suite of rooms is reserved for the use of my branch of the family, although only I have ever been here from my branch of the family in the past twenty years. Since Rogerus here runs everything in Rome for me he is in on this little family secret."  
  
At this point Chloe turned to Rogerus. "These friends are almost like family to me. Please have a guest room made ready in my suite, they will be staying with me."  
  
Rogerus smiled. "It is already being done. If you will follow me to where the lunch is waiting." Then he headed to the exit from the courtyard that Chloe had said led to the family baths.  
  
After passing through several chambers they ultimately arrived at the solar room. This large room had a moderate sized pool and several tables on which servants were busily setting out a dazzling array of food.  
  
However the most striking features were the large stain glass windows filling the east, south and west walls of the room. Chloe explained that the ability to create large flat sheets of glass wouldn't exist for many centuries, but the art of glassblowing had been around for a long time and many glass objects like goblets were available. When she had this portion of the villa built she had introduced the concept of large stain glass windows claiming to have seen it before during travels in the Far East. After seeing this room several other of the grand palaces of Rome had added their own solar rooms.  
  
The three large panels were done mostly in light colored glass to let in the most light with just enough darker highlights to create interesting patterns across the interior of the room. The three panels depicted a lion hunt along a tropical river. From the Sphinx in the foreground of the western panel, the river could only be the Nile.  
  
"Wow," exclaimed Lana. "These windows are incredible. And that face on the Sphinx looks more like you than the face I remember from photos."  
  
Chloe shrugged. "When I worked with the artist to design these panels forty years ago, he just thought it was the vanity of the super rich. But this whole sequence of panels is based on an actual lion hunt that occurred about eight thousand years ago. Within the limitations of working with chips of stained glass, this is how the Sphinx actually looked back then. Of course, since I arrived here in Rome six years ago everyone in the household just comments on how much I resemble my grandmother whom they assume it is based on."  
  
"Anyway," concluded Chloe. "Who's up for a quick dip before we eat?"  
  
The others nodded, but Clark and Lana looked around a little uncomfortably at all of the servants and others in the room.  
  
Chloe turned to Rogerus. "I think my friends would prefer a little privacy after days on the road. We will serve ourselves. Could you have someone show Cyrus to the scholar quarters down by the Academy? I think he would be more comfortable staying down here. Oh, and arrange for him to join us for dinner. Clark and Lana will probably appreciate a familiar face. Then if you could rejoin us in about half an hour, I have several tasks I could use your help with."  
  
Rogerus nodded. After clapping his hands and directing the servants to depart, he personally escorted Cyrus out a door on the far side of the room.  
  
As soon as Cyrus and Rogerus had left, Chloe quickly stripped off her robe and waded down into the pool. Clark didn't need much more of a hint to strip and join her. He was still a little uncomfortable getting naked in front of the others, particularly here. Even the time they had all ended up naked in the baths back in Genua, it had been late in the evening, in a mostly dark room lit by only a few candles. But with the bright sunlight streaming in through the large stained glass windows, they might as well be out in the broad daylight. Clark was just thankful it was just the four of them and not a room filled with servants.  
  
Chloe floated in the silken water enjoying the relaxing effect of a bath for the first time in days. As she watched, Clark stripped off his tunic exposing his powerful physique. God, his body was hot. He waded down into the water and then dove under. He finally surfaced right in front of Chloe, pulling her into his arms. She could feel his excitement as her breasts were pressed against his chest and he brought his hands down onto her ass.  
  
Looking into her eyes, Clark asked, "A sestertius for your thoughts, Chloe."  
  
Chloe smiled. Clark would never imagine some of the thoughts rattling around in her seventeen thousand year old head. Instead of saying anything she just pulled his mouth down for a long, slow kiss.  
  
End of Chapter 23 


	24. Portal Chapter 24

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 24  
  
It was mid-morning on their second full day in Rome. The four of them had spent the first day relaxing from the journey and touring the many buildings of Chloe's vast palatial estate while Rogerus initiated some discrete inquires into the location of the professor.  
  
This afternoon the four of them were planning an outing to the Circus Maximus for the chariot races. The races were going all day, but Chloe said after you had seen three or four races in one day they started to become boring. Plus the best teams always competed in the late afternoon and that's when most of the upper class arrived to fill their private seating areas.  
  
Since they had a number of hours to kill before heading to the races, Chloe had decided to go to the forum outside the Imperial Senate to see what friends and acquaintances were around and start her own investigation into the professor's location and his position in Roman society after the recent death of his patron Emperor Tiberius and the elevation of Emperor Gaius Germanicus.  
  
Clark had accompanied her while Lex and Lana had remained back at the estate. As dinner entertainment the previous evening the renown Stoic philosopher, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, had debated Cyrus, Clark and Lana's Latin teacher, and one of the other teachers on Chloe's staff on the topic 'The Impact on the Roman Economy of the recent reduction of the gold content of the standard talent from 80% to 68%'. Lex had been fascinated to actually meet someone whom he had studied in school and had invited Seneca to return this morning for a chance to chat in a quieter setting.  
  
For the first time since arriving in these ancient Roman times, Chloe felt comfortable leaving Lex and Lana alone while she attended to other matters. With the household guards and more significantly, Rogerus' watchful eye, they would be safe while they remained at Chloe's estate.  
  
Therefore Chloe was relaxed and enjoying the beautiful, sunny day while renewing friendships with people she hadn't seen in several thousand years.  
  
She and Clark were lounging in a shady spot by the food vendors enjoying some apple-filled pastries when she saw a commotion at the far side of the forum. A large group of at least twenty Praetorians were marching into the forum. In front strode a man at least two heads taller than any of the other soldiers who could only be Patricus Gasparus Venta, the second in command of the Praetorians and the professor's old ally and Coelia's long ago unwanted suitor. After they had marched about forty paces into the forum, a weasly looking little man scurried out of the crowd and ran up to Venta. After a short exchange the man pointed in Chloe's direction and Venta and his troops promptly set off in the indicated direction. Chloe expected at some point Venta would track her down, but having been in the forum for less than an hour, she was a little surprised at his informants' efficiency and his own apparent sense of urgency. Could he have already made her connection with Lex and her dual life up in the 21st century? No, that seemed unlikely since the professor had only seen her and Clark for a couple of minutes before the professor pulled Lana through the portal. Most likely this was related to her sudden departure six months ago after agreeing to marry Venta. One way or the other, she would find out in the next few minutes.  
  
Nudging Clark, she pointed with her chin to the approaching troops and said, "Showtime."  
  
Clark nodded and took a slow deep breath to mentally prepare himself for this encounter. When Chloe had brought the topic up yesterday while they had some time alone in the baths he had not been too enthused with her idea about using a variation on the method they had employed against Gaius, the 21st century Tony Campinello, back in the woods outside of Narbo. That had just been a spur of the moment idea to attempt to scare off what they thought were a bunch of superstitious locals, not someone from their own times. Clark had suggested just letting him immobilize Venta and dragging him back to the Portal with them since he wasn't the one with the meteor rocks they needed. But eventually Chloe convinced him to try this approach of dangling a carrot in front of Venta, and indirectly the Professor, to see if they could get them to just hand over the rocks. Although why Chloe thought this bizarre scheme, which seemed fraught with a lot of unknown variables, was the best course was beyond Clark.  
  
Taking Chloe's arm, Clark started casually walking in the general direction of the Praetorians. If things got out of hand, which seemed likely to him, he wanted some space to maneuver.  
  
To make some conversation to keep from over-thinking the situation ahead, Clark began, "If I didn't say it before, I want to thank you for the footwear. Your cobbler dropped these sandal things and a couple of pairs of boots off this morning while you were off talking to Rogerus. After ten days without shoes I was finally starting to get use to it, but surprisingly as soon as I put these on I felt like a civilized person again, instead of some barbarian or hillbilly."  
  
Chloe glanced down at Clark's feet. She had noticed the footwear before, but hadn't really paid much attention. The sandals had hard leather soles and straps that wrapped around his calves almost up to his knees. Not a style commonly found on men in the 21st century, but she had seen similar styles for women in fashion magazines for over $1000. "Glad you like them, Clark. It is nice to stay put in one spot long enough to take care of some of the minor necessities of life."  
  
"It is still hard for me to comprehend your lifestyle here where you have so many people working for you that you even have your own shoemaker."  
  
"Well, without modern conveniences you need more bodies to get things done. Even one hundred years ago, I mean one hundred years ago from our own times, more than a quarter of all American homes had live-in help, even if it was only a farm hand or combination cleaning girl/au pair. Now, less than one tenth of one percent of American homes have live-in help. Anyway, back here, once your staff gets over a certain threshold it makes more and more economic sense to bring tasks in-house. When the number starts approaching one thousand, like my household staff here, you ended up with a pretty self-sufficient system."  
  
Clark started to laugh. "Chloe, when your household staff is the size of a small town, it should be pretty self-sufficient."  
  
Chloe looked at him and batted her eyes. "Sometimes a girl just needs a lot of people around who are ready to fawn all over her at a moment's notice."  
  
Clark wasn't sure if that was a hint or just a reference to the line from the movie 'Pretty Woman', but he pulled her closer and leaned over. "Have I told you today how beautiful you are?"  
  
Chloe snuggled closer too. "Oh, five or six times, but a few hundred more wouldn't hurt."  
  
Clark stopped and pulled Chloe into a passionate kiss. Well, as passionate a kiss as he felt comfortable doing in a crowded forum filled with hundreds of people.  
  
It seemed like they had only been kissing for a few seconds when they were interrupted by a deep, gravelly voice.  
  
"Coelia Doinysia Flavius, what an unexpected surprise," the voice rumbled with a faint underlying sneer.  
  
Clark broke the kiss and looked over in the direction of the voice. In the past eighteen months it had become rare for Clark to have to look up to stare into anyone's eyes. Back at Smallville High only a couple of the players on the basketball team were significantly taller than Clark's 6'4". Since they been back here in the Roman Empire no one had come close to Clark's height until now, but Clark was definitely looking up to look into Venta's eyes.  
  
And not only was Venta tall, no, he was built just like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. Well, like Arnold if he had been 6'6" instead of his actual 5'10". At 6'6" Venta was close to three hundred pounds and not an ounce of it appeared to be fat. Like Clark, he was wearing a short robe slung over his left shoulder and belted at his waist. It left his massive right arm, shoulder, and upper chest bare in a way that would intimidate most lesser men.  
  
Of course, Clark only looked like the lesser man when in direct comparison to someone like Venta. Clark still had that lean, somewhat gangly body that went with youth, unlike the big, hard muscles an athletic man can achieve in his thirties.  
  
As Clark brought his attention back up he could see in Venta's face that he was a man in his late thirties with Nordic high cheek bones and whitish- blonde hair. Actually, on second thought, Clark decided he reminded him more of Dolph Lungren than Arnold. At least until you got to the eyes. This man had the hard eyes of a soldier, a killer, a leader, a man who expected everyone to grovel at his merest approach. The eyes few mere actors would ever master on the silver screen. 'God,' thought Clark. 'I hope I never end up with eyes like those.'  
  
As soon as Venta had begun speaking a hush seemed to spread over the nearest portion of the crowd and Clark realized it was time to get into his role.  
  
Turning back towards Chloe, Clark said in Latin in a clear, quiet voice just loud enough to be sure the nearest portion of the crowd would hear. "I don't know who you are, but fuck off, she's busy." Then while a small gasp seemed to spread through the crowd, Clark leaned back down and started to kiss Chloe again.  
  
Clark had counted to four potatoes before he felt the powerful hand grab his upper arm, much as he was expecting. He used his own incredible strength to ignore the tugging on his arm. Finally, after he had counted three more potatoes, Clark broke the kiss and looked down at hand on his arm.  
  
In a loud, powerful voice that rolled out across the forum bringing all other conversations and activities to a halt, Clark commanded, "Remove that hand, mortal, or lose it."  
  
In surprise more than anything else, Venta did remove his hand and took half a step back.  
  
Clark and Chloe turned towards Venta and Clark tried his best to project the image of someone who was not really angry, but merely annoyed at an inconvenient distraction.  
  
At this point Chloe jumped into the conversation. With an obvious squeeze of their interlaced fingers Chloe said to Clark, "Ares, you promised to play nice." Then turning to Venta she continued. "Hello, Patricus. Yes, it has been a long time."  
  
Venta had never been known for his patience or subtly and came directly to the point. Straightening up and coming to attention, he said. "Coelia Doinysia Flavius, you are under arrest for treason against the empire."  
  
Chloe and Clark stared at Venta for several seconds before Clark's face broke into a grin and then he started laughing.  
  
This was a first for Venta. No one he had arrested before had ever laughed in his face. Always the person had cringed back in fear and, on the rare occasion, tried to run.  
  
Venta turned to Clark. "Careful, boy, or I will take you in also, as an accessory."  
  
Clark snorted. "Take me in? You and what army?"  
  
"Oh," began Venta, starting to enjoy the situation. He loved it when someone tried to resist. "I think my men and I are more than enough to take you."  
  
Clark grinned again. "A mere twenty men? That's hardly enough to work up a good sweat."  
  
"Big words for someone who isn't even carrying a sword."  
  
Clark remembered one of his favorite lines from the old 'Hercules' TV show. Somehow it seemed appropriate for the current situation and Chloe's little plan. So with a shrug Clark responded. "I have this old friend. Perhaps you heard of him, his name is Hercules. Anyway, Herc always says why waste your time lugging around weapons when you can just take your opponent's. I have been practicing his philosophy for a while and you know what? It has been working for me, too."  
  
"Ares," said Chloe. "Remember you just got back. Don't start any trouble. At least not until we get what we came for."  
  
Clark glanced at her. "Come on, Aphrodite. He started it. I just want to have a little fun." And then turning back to Venta, he leaned forward and shouted, "Boo!"  
  
For a big man, Venta was very fast. Almost before anyone around them was aware of it, he had reflexively pulled his short sword from its scabbard and thrust it towards Clark.  
  
No matter how fast Venta was, Clark was way, way out of his league. Clark grasped the blade tightly in his right hand and then taking a half step forward, slammed his open left hand into the center of Venta's chest. Venta flew backward and, with a mighty clattering crash, landed on top of his platoon of men. Before they came to a stop over a dozen of his men were in a tangle pile on the ground and Clark was left holding Venta's sword.  
  
As Venta and his men slowly clambered back to their feet Clark was idly tossing Venta's sword into the air over and over. Once most of the men were facing him again, Clark finally spoke. "Don't they teach the most basic rule of fighting any more? You should never start a fight with a stranger if you can avoid it, because no matter how big, tough, experienced you are, somewhere out there, there is always someone better than you. Well, actually, that rule applies to everyone, but me." Having said that, Clark tossed Venta's sword back to him.  
  
Now it was Chloe's turn to snort. "Ares, I seem to remember a time Hercules wiped the floor with your butt."  
  
"Hey, so I lost one time and then it was only because Hercules had Apollo get me into that drinking contest first. After a gallon of mead I was so out of it I could barely stand let alone fight. But other than that one time, Aphrodite, how many thousands of men or heroes or even other Gods have I killed in combat?"  
  
"Okay, so you are invincible against mortals, but for the moment we need him alive. Try and keep that in mind," responded Chloe.  
  
"Yes, dear," Clark responded before turning back to Venta.  
  
While Clark and Chloe had been trading quips back and forth, Venta had gotten his men organized. They had completely surrounded Clark and Chloe, leveling an assortment of spears and swords in their direction. As Venta was resheathing his own sword to leave the dirty work to his men, Clark spoke up.  
  
"Venta, you and your men can't kill me and I won't kill you, so let's move on. We have some business to discuss."  
  
By this point Venta was seething mad. No one humiliated him by tossing him around like a small child in front of his men and many of the leading citizens of Rome. Why Coelia and this boy were playing some game as though the boy was Ares, the Greek God of War, and Coelia was Aphrodite, the Greek God of Love, was beyond him at the moment. He had known Coelia for years and she was just a spoiled rich Roman brat in many ways like the idle rich he had seen on TV growing up back in the 20th century. No, regardless of what game they were trying to play, he was going to end it now. Instead of quietly leading Coelia away to a private execution for her refusal to marry him and help with his plan to take control of the empire, he was going to perform a very public execution of these two, right where they stood.  
  
"Men, on my command, kill these traitors to the emperor and empire," Venta called out in a calm, controlled, deadly tone of voice.  
  
Clark turn to Chloe and quietly said, "Do you think a woman can fly?" mimicking a question Lex had asked him long ago on the day they had first met. Then without waiting for a response from her, he grabbed her under the arms and tossed her straight up into the air. Very hard.  
  
Venta's, the Praetorians', and the entire crowd's eyes were drawn to her as she rose fifty feet, then one hundred feet, and finally one hundred and fifty feet into the air.  
  
It was all Chloe could do to keep from screaming as she rose higher and higher into the air. She and Clark had never talked about this as they had discussed plans if they encountered Venta. They had discussed some Greek Mythology for the cover story and a few variations of the disappearing sword trick they had used before, but nothing about tossing her hundreds of feet into the air. She just hoped Clark knew what he was doing, as from personal experience of the time she had had to do the swan dive off of the top of the battlements of the Crusader castle in Acre onto the rocks hundreds of feet below to escape her pursuers, she knew it would take many seconds for her body to heal from a fall of this height.  
  
After reaching a zenith of nearly two hundred feet Chloe started to plummet back to earth. Her 'bot network shut down her pain receptors and busily worked to minimize the potential damage from a fall at near terminal velocity. As Chloe neared the ground she tried to mentally prepare herself for the impact. Then, just a fraction of second before her 'bots said she should hit the ground, Clark caught her.  
  
The contact with Clark's arm and the rapid deceleration over a distance of only a few inches resulted in several cracked ribs, but otherwise she was unharmed. The estimated repair time that flashed briefly through her consciousness was seven seconds.  
  
To maintain the proper tone for this encounter, Chloe squealed out in her best impression of a giggling three-year-old girl, "Yippee that was so much fun. Again, please."  
  
Clark set her down on her feet and said, "Maybe later, if you're good." Then he turned back towards Venta.  
  
It was only after Clark turned back towards him that Venta and the crowd realized that all of the Praetorian soldiers were lying on the ground, unconscious or dead. Venta immediately reached for his sword, but found the scabbard empty.  
  
"Looking for this?" asked Clark as he kicked up his right foot lofting Venta's sword which had been resting there.  
  
Catching the hilt in his right hand, Clark brought the middle of the heavy blade up to his mouth and promptly took a large bite out of it. Like a kid taking a big bite out of a slice of Wonder bread, Clark ripped a semicircular chunk out of the blade leaving teeth marks around the perimeter of the cutout. Clark chewed the piece in his mouth several times before spitting it out with the comment, "Not enough copper. Aphrodite, remember the good old days of Troy when mortals used swords of bronze and after killing thousands of them in battle you could dine on their finest weapons?"  
  
With a loud sigh, Clark took the sword and threw it hard into a crack in the paving stones between Venta's feet. Almost before Venta realized the sword had left Clark's hand it was standing vibrating between his feet. At first glance it looked like the tip of the sword was buried six inches directly into solid stone with the missing, bitten-out chunk another clear reminder of Clark's superhuman, almost God-like abilities.  
  
End of Chapter 24 


	25. Portal Chapter 25

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 25  
  
While Venta was still frozen in shock at the events he had just witnessed, Clark walked over and grabbed Venta's upper arm. Clark clamped down extremely hard stopping just short of the force that would break bones, but definitely reinforcing who was the stronger man.  
  
"Now, as I was saying," Clark began. "We have some business to discuss. Let us find some mead . . ."  
  
"Wine," interjected Chloe.  
  
". . . wine and have a chat." Then still holding Venta's arm Clark started strolling over towards the wine vendors along the south side of the forum.  
  
With their attention focused on Venta and Venta still in a slight haze of shock, none of the three noticed the man who stepped out of the crowd and trailed along a few steps behind, but within easy listening distance. The man had a slightly build and was wearing a filthy old robe and a giant floppy straw hat to protect against the midday sun and which conveniently did a good job of concealing his face from casual perusal.  
  
As they reached a couple of benches near the wine vendors, the people who had been sitting there before all of the excitement began rapidly cleared out of the way. Clark called out to the vendors for wine and then sat on one of the benches forcing Venta to sit next to him by maintaining the iron grip on his arm. As Chloe sank down on the facing bench, their unnoticed shadow sprawled out on the ground at the base of the adjacent shade tree and pulled a bag of dates from within his robe.  
  
After the wine vendor had filled three mugs and left them the large jug, Clark began to speak. "Six hundred years ago, shortly after the end of the glorious war at Troy, Zeus, for reasons known only to him, banished most of the other gods and great heroes from this realm. He himself then retreated to Mount Olympus and blocked all access points between this, the mortal realm, and the higher godly planes."  
  
"Now this wouldn't have been so bad if he had banished us to the pleasant Elysian Fields where the hunting is good, there is feasting every night, and the supply of beautiful wenches is endless.  
  
"Or it might have been at least tolerable if he had sent us to the Fields of Asphodel where most of the mortal shades end up after death. It is a gray, dreary place and the shades have lost most of their memories of the mortal realm, but at least that realm is not filled with torture and brutal slave-like hard labor.  
  
"But, no, that asshole Zeus couldn't banish us there. He had to send us to Tartarus, the lowest region of Hades. Well beyond the rivers Styx, Acheron, Cocytius, Phlegethon, and even Lethe to the deepest, darkest pits of Hell. The same god-forsaken place he banished Cronus, his father, and all of the other old Titans when he first came to power."  
  
Chloe sat there almost in awe watching Clark play out his role. They had never discussed any of these details during the conversation at the baths yesterday afternoon. She didn't know where he had learned all of this other mythology, but listening to the strength and power Clark could put into his voice, she was almost starting to believe herself that he really was Ares, the Greek God of War.  
  
Clark continued. "For six hundred fucking years, Apollo, Hercules, Perseus, Jason, Hermes, Odysseus, Hephaestus, me and all of the others have endured backbreaking labor along side Cronus, Oceanus, Atlas, and the other Titans under the brutal whip of Zeus' brother, Pluto, and his hell-bitch wife, Persephone."  
  
Clark shook his head as if to clear it of deep, dark thoughts and let out a small sigh. "Six months ago I was working in the deepest, most remote quarry in all of Tartarus when I came upon a strange green shimmering doorway in an otherwise nondescript quarry wall. When I reached out my hand to touch the surface, it passed straight through. Walking forward, I stepped through the shimmering doorway and found myself back in the mortal realm deep in the Caucasus Mountains far beyond the Pontus Euxinus Sea.  
  
"As soon as my foot touch the soil of earth again, Aphrodite and I could sense each other's presence and we immediately set out to meet. Three months ago we both arrived in Antiochia before traveling back here to Rome."  
  
Straightening up, Clark continued. "Now, let's get down to business. It is my intention to rescue the others from Tartarus and then we will storm Olympus and overthrow Zeus. Aphrodite says your help or," and here Clark turned to Chloe, "What was that other mortal's name?"  
  
"Antonius Octavius Carius," responded Chloe promptly.  
  
"Your help or that of this Carius would be most useful. Now I am willing to offer lordship over the mortal realms and immortality to you two or any others who help me, once Zeus is defeated and I am in power."  
  
Venta had been sitting there in stunned silence. When this 'Ares' had first implied he and Coelia were gods, he had thought it was just an attempted scam to get him to back off on the treason charge against Coelia. But then the tossing of Coelia into the air as though she weighed no more than a baseball, and the defeat of his troops in the blink of the eye, and finally the big bite taken out of his own sword, the one he had been carrying for the past three years. How had this 'Ares' accomplished all of these things in a matter of seconds? He couldn't be a god since everyone from the 20th century knew they didn't exist. But then what was he? How had he done those things? If he could do those things, were his offers of immortality and control of the world possible?  
  
Clark could see the wavering in Venta's eyes. Time for the other blast to fully shake his confidence and control.  
  
Clark looked over at Chloe, gave a quick wink, and said, "Aphrodite, you have spent hundreds of years living among the mortals, and have the gift of SIGHT. Perhaps it is best if you explain the rest."  
  
Venta looked over at Coelia and saw her nod at Ares' statement and then watched as her eyes rolled up into her head until only the whites were showing.  
  
She sat there humming softly for thirty seconds before closing her eyes and shaking violently for at least ten seconds. As her body finally stilled, she opened her eyes and tough, battle-hardened Venta let out a gasp of horror. Her eyes were solid pools of crimson red with small trickles of blood seeping from the corners. For an instant Venta thought he was looking directly into the portals of hell.  
  
Then she began to speak and it was even worse. The voice was not that of the Coelia he knew, but the low, raspy sound the dead always made in the horror movies of his youth.  
  
There he sat, a grown man in broad daylight and suddenly it felt like he was trapped in some long forgotten nightmare.  
  
"Sven Torsnes, let me explain things in the terms of your world of science, so you may understand," began Chloe.  
  
'My god,' thought Venta. 'How does she know my real name?'  
  
"The world of the Greek Gods is located in a universe parallel to this planet earth. Previously, only the most powerful of the Greek Gods could open doorways between the universes, but now a new force has entered this world. When Professor Carey's diabolical device opens a wormhole from the future, a harmonic wormhole opens between this universe and that of the Greek Gods."  
  
Chloe's voice was getting fainter and fainter. Both Venta and Clark, who was almost as shocked by Chloe's performance as Venta, found themselves leaning forward as she said the final words. "The green stones are the key."  
  
Then suddenly her head sagged forward as her eyes closed. After about ten seconds she raised her head, gave it several tiny shakes, and opened her eyes. They had returned to their normal clear, light green and if not for the small drops of drying blood near the corners, her otherworldly trance would have seemed a figment of Venta's overworked imagination.  
  
"Ahh," said Chloe with her voice returned to its normal rich soprano. "Things are much clearer now. The SIGHT always is clearest when the subject is present."  
  
After giving Venta a new appraising once over inspection with a curious glimmer in her eye, Chloe said. "This thing called . . . ahh . . . science that mortals will develop in the future is very interesting. Particularly the way it can reproduce some of the gifts of the gods."  
  
Turning towards Clark, Chloe continued in a more excited tone. "Ares, my earlier SIGHT was right! Well, mostly right. It is not these two mortals that are the potential key to victory, but rather something they possess. In the distant future, about 2000 years from now, mortals will develop a device that can open doorways between different times on Earth, in the same way Zeus and the old Gods can open doorways between the Godly Planes and Earth. However, at the same time it is opening a doorway between the different times on Earth the device also opens a second doorway between a random spot on the earth and a random spot in the Godly Planes. The other man we seek, Antonius Octavius Carius, has been opening doorways off-and-on for the past 50 years, but apparently the one you used six months ago is the first one that has opened where anyone was present."  
  
Clark appeared to ponder this for a few seconds. "If the doorways to the other realm are random, I don't see how that helps us."  
  
"Ahh, but the key to the device are special green stones. These stones that power the device are not from the Earth, but from some other realm. And from my SIGHT it is clear that any God who possesses these stones can use his WILL to control where the doorways between the Earth and the Godly Planes open. Any God. You, me, Apollo, Hermes, any of us. Perhaps it is something like these stones that is the secret of Zeus' and the Old God's powers!"  
  
Appearing to mutter under his breath, Clark said. "With the power of the Old Gods, I can take Olympus from Zeus and then we'll see how he likes Tartarus."  
  
Turning to Venta, Clark stated, "I will stand behind my former offer. To whoever delivers these green stones to me and aids me in defeating Zeus, I will grant lordship over the mortal realm and the gift of immortality. Let us drink to success."  
  
As the three of them were raising their mugs, the man who had been sitting under the nearby tree quietly climbed to his feet. As he walked towards Clark and the others he removed his oversized straw hat. A gasp went through the crowd, which had surrounded them and had been following conversation with baited breathe. Following the collective gasp was hurried bowing of heads and murmurs of 'Your Majesty'.  
  
Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus had been the Emperor of the Roman Empire for a little over a month, but had developed the habit of traveling incognito long before his ascension to the imperial purple. Even when he was only one of many potential successors to Tiberius, he never fully trusted his advisors to ferret out all the real or imagined attempts against his life and had started his own secret activities to look for hidden plots.  
  
Today he had been planning to spy on a pair of senators as they left the senate he suspected of treason when he noticed the exchange between Venta, the second in command of his Praetorians, and these other two. He had just gotten close when all of the action began. When the girl was tossed into the air, he had been one of the few to keep his eyes on the man instead. The man who had just blurred and disappeared while all of the soldiers were crumpling to the ground.  
  
Now the exchange between these three appeared to be ending and if he was going to get any additional information, it had become necessary to make his presence known.  
  
As he approached, the three rose to their feet and Venta properly bowed his head, but the other two gave the merest of nods. Ares began to speak when the woman cut him off.  
  
Speaking in a low voice that the four of them could hear, but would not carry to the crowd, the woman said. "Greetings to a fellow God, Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, however I have the gift of SIGHT and the time is not yet auspicious to publicly acknowledge your divinity."  
  
Caligula beamed at this acknowledgement of his Godhood, which he had always known, but hadn't yet proclaimed. He was thrilled to finally meet two of his equals.  
  
Smiling almost shyly, he asked in a soft, nearly effeminate voice, "You appear to know me, but we have not been properly introduced."  
  
"Of course, how rude of me," answered Chloe. "This is Ares, he has just returned to the mortal realm after six hundred years in Hades. I am Aphrodite. I have lived among mortals for thousands of years, but like you I have been under a mandate to pass as a mortal. In this present era I am known as Coelia Doinysia Flavius and, if you remember, we met briefly at Emperor Tiberius' birthday celebration last year. For me, the mandate to hide my true identity was lifted with the return of Ares. For you, my SIGHT tells me the mandate will be lifted after you assume personal command of the Army of the Rhine, however today is not yet that day."  
  
"I could feel your presence under that tree, Gaius," said Clark in a more normal tone that could be overheard by the nearer members of the crowd. "And earlier during the confrontation. I tried not to seriously damage any of your loyal soldiers, as I hoped we may end up as allies. Tell me, did you follow the conversation we had with Venta here?" And as he said his name, Clark clapped his arm down hard onto Venta's shoulders causing his knees to buckle and he almost collapsed to the ground. "Sorry, old man, sometimes I forget my strength. It wouldn't do for me to hurt you, now that we are going to be working together."  
  
Caligula was nodding in response to Clark's question. "Yes, yes. It is all so exciting. You must tell me more about Hades and Olympus."  
  
"I would be happy to tell you all about them. And if you will aid me in my quest to rescue my comrades and overthrow Zeus, well, I think a long pleasant visit to Mount Olympus could be arranged for you. As for Hades, the portions I have experienced are not a nice place to visit, but I will be happy to describe them in detail."  
  
"Actually visit Mount Olympus?" Asked Caligula trembling with delight. "Of course, I will do anything I can to help you."  
  
Clark put on a big broad smile. "Excellent. This is not the most relaxing, comfortable location for the telling of long stories. Aphrodite and I were planning on visiting the Circus Maximus for the chariot races this afternoon. Chariot Races, a true sport of the Gods. Perhaps we could meet you there and continue this conversation."  
  
"Oh, that would be most wonderful," responded Caligula. "My personal champion, Calpurnius Piso, will be driving for the Greens in the final race. You must join me in the imperial box and after the races we will have a celebratory feast."  
  
Clark inclined his head. "You are a most gracious and generous host. I look forward to seeing you this afternoon. Come, Aphrodite," and Clark held out his arm to Chloe.  
  
Clark and Chloe started to leave when Clark stopped and turned back towards Venta and said with his hardest, most menacing tone. "Venta, I expect prompt action on the things we discussed. Mortals who displease me quickly feel my wrath." Then Clark and Chloe turned and swept out of the Forum as majestically as possible.  
  
After they had walked for several minutes and turned several corners Clark let out a deep sigh and said in English so they wouldn't be overheard. "Wow that was intense."  
  
"Yeah," agreed Chloe. "Where the hell did you come up with all of that Greek Mythology? It went way beyond what we discussed yesterday. Not that I am complaining, when you started rattling off all of the names of those Gods and described your exile to Tartarus, it sent chills through my bones."  
  
Clark grinned. "After our conversation at the baths instead of our normal Latin lesson with Cyrus, I had him give Lana and me a lecture on Greek Mythology instead. Particularly about Hades and which of the Gods and heroes were still alive at the end of all of the fables. I mean if a bunch of them were still alive, what happened to them? It seemed if our story made reference to more than just the two of us, it would be more believable."  
  
"Yeah, that has been my experience. If you make the scam convoluted enough, the mark is so busy looking for minor inconsistencies that he overlooks that the whole thing is an illusion. Of course, with some of the things you did I don't know what other explanations Venta is going to be able to come up with other than that you are a God. When you tossed me up into the air, it was so unexpected and scary. Clark, are you really a God?"  
  
Clark shrugged. "No more than you. I mean when you went into that trance and your eyes were solid pools of blood. Way too freaky, I thought you had hurt yourself."  
  
"Well, I can't totally change my appearance like Amy could, but I can do minor tricks like that eye thing. It took a long time for me to work around the built-in safeties of the 'bot system to allow temporary self- inflicted injuries when it is necessary. Fortunately, all the eye trick requires is momentarily increasing the blood pressure in a couple of key arteries in the eyes to cause them to rupture and cover the surface of my eyes with blood. Then once I am finished and close my eyes, the 'bots quickly breakdown the excess blood and repair the damaged arteries. I have used this ploy a number of times down through the millennia when I needed to play the role of oracle or mystic."  
  
"So that eerie voice was another part of the same act?"  
  
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, all though that is just a matter of a lot of practice at voice control. You would be amazed at some of the skills you can mastery with enough years of practice. But then most people can't allocate eight hours a day for three hundred years to truly master one skill. Now I don't have the range to do most men convincingly, but with women, well check this out."  
  
Chloe paused for a moment and then said in a perfect replica of Martha Kent's voice. "Clark Hudson Kent get your butt out of that bed right now. You are going to miss the bus again."  
  
Clark stopped walking, turned, and just stared at her. Then he closed his eyes and after a few seconds Chloe could see a couple of big tears starting to form. Chloe stepped up and pulled Clark into the tightest hug that she could, realizing her mistake that if she was going to mimic someone's voice she should have done Lana and not his Mom.  
  
"Clark, I am so sorry. I didn't think," she said as she felt the tears welling up in her own eyes.  
  
Clark hugged her back. "I miss seeing my Mom and Dad so much and then that voice. I think this is the longest I have ever gone without seeing them. And Pete, too. I just so want to go home to Smallville."  
  
"Me, too, Clark. Me, too," said Chloe slowly stroking his back remembering again that Clark for all of his great powers and gifts was only a sixteen- year-old boy on his first great adventure. "Hopefully, after the encounter we just had we are a lot closer to obtaining the meteor rocks and can be on our way home."  
  
"Do you really think Venta bought the story?" asked Clark as he dried his eyes and then took Chloe's hand before turning once more in the direction of Chloe's estate.  
  
"I don't know, Clark. It is very hard for someone from modern times to accept things like Greek Gods. I just hope the subtle reference to parallel universes put that little hint of science into the equation that will make it seem plausible. Plus I can't see how they can explain away your couple of stunts even with 21st century science.  
  
"And then there is the whole lucky stroke of Caligula being there. He definitely believes we are Gods, I could see it in his eyes," said Chloe. "He may be able to help us retrieve the meteor rocks, but can definitely help us stop the General and his army of the Rhine."  
  
"I did notice you work that into your conversation."  
  
"Yeah, well, Caligula really will execute at least one general of the Rhine Army and he does ultimately proclaim his Godhood after personally leading that army for awhile, so all of the things I told him will come true eventually. So I don't think anything I said will disrupt the timeline."  
  
"Do you think we can depend on Caligula? He doesn't strike me as being too stable," asked Clark.  
  
"Oh, he is a classical case of delusional paranoia with just a light layering of schizophrenia. If we handle this correctly, he shouldn't be any problem."  
  
Clark just stared at her.  
  
"What, don't you believe I know anything about clinical psychology? I will have you know I was the personal secretary to both Freud and Jung at various times during their lives and I did learn a thing or two."  
  
Clark just shook his head at learning one more new facet of Chloe's remarkable background. Finally, he asked, "What about Lex and Lana? They are supposed to go with us to the chariot races this afternoon."  
  
They walked in silence for several blocks as Chloe thought. Finally she answered. "I guess this is where it starts to get tricky, bringing them partway into this cover story without telling them everything. Particularly after your very public display of your powers. Word of this 'Ares' will spread through Rome like wildfire and will probable even reach my estate before we do. Once we explain our new cover names of Ares and Aphrodite, Lex is likely to put two and two together."  
  
"Damn," said Clark. "I knew as soon as I tossed you into the air I should have gone with a different approach. I could have just as easily appeared to have fought and beat the soldiers in speed mode. The other things could have been explained away to Lex as sleight of hand or 21st century science."  
  
"Clark, it is too late to waste time on second thoughts now. What's done is done. Plus, we really needed several truly unexplainable things, if we have any hope of convincing Venta."  
  
Here Chloe paused for a moment, then said, "One thing though, Clark. You might want to practice that whole toss and catch thing a few more times before you try it with anyone else."  
  
Clark looked at her with a dawning expression on his face. "Oh my god, did I hurt you?"  
  
Chloe held up a hand. "Just a couple of cracked ribs. No, no. It's not a big deal, I am fully recovered. Just try to be a little gentler if you have to do something like that with Lana or Lex."  
  
Clark nodded in a somewhat subdued way as he struggled with the fact that his little stunt, which at first had seemed so brilliant, had only ended up complicating everything and causing the woman he loved some unnecessary pain.  
  
"Come on, Clark. It is not that big of a deal. Cheer up and let's figure out what to tell Lex and Lana," said Chloe. And then knowing what would cheer up any sixteen-year-old boy, she continued. "When we get back to the estate, I will have to pick out something appropriate to wear for an 'official' meeting with the emperor. Could I suggest a little Victoria's Secret style fashion show to help you decide what I should wear?"  
  
Clark grinned, grabbed Chloe's hand, and set off at a brisk pace back towards her fabulous estate.  
  
End of Chapter 25 


	26. Portal Chapter 26

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 26  
  
Lex was starting to appreciate the comment Marcus had made about Coelia and her misplaced entourage way back on their first day in Tolosa, the day the reality of their situation was just sinking home. Today, he had been expecting a simple outing to the chariot races and suddenly he felt like he was traveling with a rap star, or a famous celebrity, or perhaps even the president. While Lex knew security was important and occasionally used a bodyguard or two when the situation warranted it, he had never traveled quite like this. For the mile and a half journey to the Circus Maximus complex their little party of four had grown almost beyond belief. First, each of them was riding in a sedan chair, Chloe and Lana's carried by six men and Lex and Clark's carried by eight men each. Then there were the ten slaves carrying hampers full of food. Lex could imagine the delicacies contained therein after the feasts they had attended in the past few days. If they remained at Chloe's estate much longer, he was going to have to seriously start hitting the gym.  
  
Of course, in addition to all of the slaves, the group was being escorted by twenty five of the household guards. And finally, he mustn't forget the five piece musical ensemble that was going along for good measure. All in all, the simple little group of four he had envisioned when Chloe had first suggested it this morning had turned into a major production involving 75 people. Lex had to grin; they had celebrities, an honor guard, and even a band. All they needed were a couple of floats and they could be their own little Rose Parade.  
  
The celebrity part had surprised him. Once Chloe's incredible secret had been exposed during their first day in Tolosa and she had gone on to tell a few stories from her amazing life, it was obvious Chloe was the richest person in the world throughout most of history, even up in the 21st Century. Yet back home she had chosen to live as a modest high school girl in Smallville, Kansas of all places. It was hard to believe the Smallville Chloe was the same person as the Roman Coelia, who so obviously flaunted her wealth.  
  
However it was the reaction of people along the route to the Circus that had come as the biggest surprise to him. Oh, he was used to people stopping and staring when he used one of his limos in Metropolis, but here the response was much more than people just stopping and staring. No, the further they traveled, the more people stopped and bowed their heads until the party passed. And then some people even started going down on one knee. Lex hadn't particularly focused on Imperial Roman customs during his studies of history, but the behavior of the steadily increasing crowd was something he would have expected to have been reserved for the emperor, not for someone like Chloe, no matter how rich she was here. Certainly back at her estate everyone had been very respectful of her, but he hadn't seen anything like this kind of bowing and scraping.  
  
For a moment or two, Lex thought the crowd's reaction might be for Lana and her Princess of Caledonia cover story that Chloe seemed to spread at every opportunity. And Lana definitely looked the part today with her shimmering white silk gown, golden tiara, and exotic little veil. However, regardless how enchantingly royal he thought she looked, Lex couldn't overcome the feeling something else was causing the crowd's reaction and he was curious what it was.  
  
Arriving outside one of the main entrances to the Circus, Lex got a partial answer. They had just dismounted from the sedan chairs when a man broke through the wall of Chloe's guards and fell to his knees in front of Clark, not five feet from where Lex was standing.  
  
The man looked up into Clark's eyes and said with a fearful look on his face like he expected to struck down at any second, "Forgive me, Lord. Is it true your offer is open to anyone?"  
  
Lex looked at Clark who for an instant had an expression on his face like he didn't know what the man was talking about. However when he spoke, after waving back Chloe's guards, his voice was several notches deeper and much more powerful than Lex had ever heard from him before. In fact, his voice projected the same commanding presence he had always imagined Warrior Angel would possess.  
  
"What offer was that, mortal?" Asked Clark.  
  
'Mortal?' thought Lex. 'What the Hell?'  
  
The man hesitated and then stammered out. "Ah . . . about the reward for the stones, Lord."  
  
Lex realized the crowd and even Chloe's guards were listening with rapt attention as though Clark's response to this question was the most important thing in their lives. What was going on? What new story had Chloe and Clark been spreading?  
  
Clark looked down at the man and then out across the crowd. "Yes, I, Ares, always keep my word. Whoever delivers the stones to me and then aids me in the coming glorious war against Zeus will be gifted with lordship over this realm and will also be gifted with the ambrosia of the Gods to maintain his rule until the end of days." Then Clark gently grasped the man's shoulders and raised him to his feet.  
  
After the man had been escorted through the wall of guards, Lex turned to Clark. "Clark, what was that all about?"  
  
Clark hesitated for a moment then sighed. "It's not Clark, it is Ares now. And Chloe's real name is Aphrodite; Coelia is just a cover story."  
  
"What? After that guy's comment are you saying you and Chloe are now the Greek Gods of Love and War? That is certainly a step up from Lana being a mere princess."  
  
Clark shrugged. "Well, you know Chloe. Never do anything by half measures. Just keep the names in mind when we get inside as we will be joining the emperor in the imperial box and the emperor does believe the whole 'God' thing."  
  
"Why would the emperor believe that?" asked Lex. Then he remembered the rumors that had flittered around Chloe's estate while he was having lunch with Lucius Seneca. Wild stories about a woman flying and a man eating a sword. "Were you by chance in the senatorial forum this morning?"  
  
Lex watched the emotions rolling across Clark's face. Finally his expression settled into a look of resignation and he nodded. "There are things we need to talk about, but we will need some time in private. For the moment let's just say any rumors you heard are probably more or less true. Anyway, please go along with the cover story."  
  
Lex suddenly realized Clark had finally, after a year of playing coy, admitted to the big 'secret'. Perhaps with a little patience he would finally get the answers to what happened that day on the bridge and to all the other unexplainable events in the year since then.  
  
"Perhaps, Ares, you should explain a little more about the cover story."  
  
Clark nodded again and Lex could see after admitting to the 'secret' his mood was starting to brighten again.  
  
"Okay, after the end of the Trojan war Zeus banished Apollo, Hermes, me, and a bunch of other gods and heroes to the Tartarus. Ah, Tartarus is in Hades," explained Clark.  
  
"I have heard of Tartarus, Clark. Lowest region of Hades. It is said a stone dropped from Olympus would fall for nine days before reaching the earth. The same stone would have to fall for another nine days to reach Tartarus where Zeus was supposed to have exiled his own father."  
  
"Yeah, that would be Cronus, a nice enough guy although thousands of years in Tartarus have taken their toll. Anyway, I had been trapped in Tartarus for the past six hundred years until six months ago when I came across a mysterious green doorway and after passing through it found myself back on earth in the mountains beyond the Black Sea.  
  
"While I and most of the other gods were in Tartarus, Aphrodite has been trapped in the mortal realm all of these centuries. Currently, she is using the identity of Coelia to travel among the mortals. When I returned to this realm she could sense me, which is why she left Rome when she did.  
  
"Anyway, the version we told to Venta, the intended audience, and Emperor Gaius, who happened to be in the forum in disguise, was that Carius' device, which opens the time-travel wormhole, has unknowingly been opening a harmonic wormhole into the Godly Realms. Aphrodite then did this whole trance thingy to convince Venta the Godly Realms is actually a parallel universe. The kicker to the story is how the stones which power Carius' device will allow any 'God' to directly open a wormhole between earth and the Godly Realms, which is why we are trying to acquire them."  
  
Lex thought about this for a second. "And you did this whole song-and- dance for Venta in a crowded forum with hundreds of people listening? I was wondering about the crowd's reaction to our little parade during the ride over and this 'God' story certainly explains it. By now, everyone in Rome must be aware of the 'Gods and Mystical Stones' story and a lot of them even seem to believe it."  
  
Clark shrugged again. "Well, we put on a pretty convincing show. And you know us Gods, we don't really care what mere mortals know or believe. Plus, if everyone in Rome is busy looking for the Professor and his meteor rocks, how does it hurt us?"  
  
As Lex listened to Clark's comment and thought about all of his statements since the man had first burst upon them, he started to wonder if this 'God' story was starting to go to Clark's head. Or maybe he was only trying to get himself into character. What exactly had happened at the forum this morning? What was Clark's big 'secret'? What did he really know about Clark?  
  
As Lex mulled over these questions and how to get the answers from Clark, the party entered the Circus Maximus stadium. This location had been used for chariot racing for hundreds of years, almost as long as Rome had been a united city-state. In the beginning it had merely been a convenient flat- bottomed valley between a couple of small hills where the spectators could watch and see the entire course. Over the years wooden stands were added for the growing crowds. Eventually the wooden structures were replaced with larger, more permanent stone and mortar construction. As a finishing touch, the emperor Augustus had faced the exterior of the structure and much of the open interior with marble.  
  
The finished Circus had seating for 150,000 and today every seat seemed to be occupied. At least that's how it felt to Lex as he walked out of the cool, dimly lit passage and into the brilliant daylight of the imperial box. Not that he could instantly see all 150,000 people, but it certainly felt like he could hear every single one of them. The race currently in progress was in the final lap and the entire crowd was standing and cheering on their favorites.  
  
For the moment, thoughts of Clark and his secret slipped to the back of Lex's mind as the spectacle and grandeur of the current situation commanded his full attention. He was actually here. Ancient Rome. At the Circus Maximus for honest-to-god chariot races. In the Emperor's own box. Lex had always had a secret, deeply hidden dream of someday being President, but would standing on the inaugural platform for the swearing-in ceremony begin to compare with this moment?  
  
As Lex looked out across the circus to the opposite side perhaps 300 feet away and then up and down the incredible length of the course, the layout and feel was completely different than he had imagined. The ruins of the Coliseum that he had explored back in the 21st Century when he had visited Rome had felt a lot like a modern football or baseball stadium, but this Circus, which no longer really existed back home, was a lot different. The side directly across from his position was about the same distance as looking across a modern stadium, but the length of the course meant it extended left and right more than three football fields in each direction. With the steep seating along the sides and with the imperial box elevated at least seventy feet above field of competition, the on-going race almost looked like it was being run down at the bottom of a long, narrow canyon. The layout resulted in an experience unlike anything Lex had previously come across in a modern stadium or automotive race track.  
  
Somehow the movie 'Ben Hur' never quite captured the feeling for the length of the course and therefore the length of the seating and magnitude of the crowd like Lex was experiencing at this moment. However the movie did get right the seven giant, fifteen foot tall, golden dolphins used to keep the lap count. They were mounted on the central barricade situated to keep chariots headed right from running head-on into those racing towards the left. As he watched, the final dolphin was being flipped down.  
  
Looking down onto the course he could see this race was being run with chariots pulled by a pair of horses each. As the leaders entered the final turn, Lex counted seven teams still in the race with five more down in varying states of damage and injury. Fortunately, the clamorous roaring of the crowd mostly drowned out the screams of injured and dying men and horses.  
  
From the colors on the chariots, harnesses, and charioteer's clothing, it was apparent each of the four color fractions had started with three chariots; however the blues were having the worst time of it with all three of their drivers down. Having noticed the colors on the teams Lex realized, with a second glance across the stands, how the spectators were mostly segregated by color as well. The blues, reds, whites, and greens all had their own seating areas, much like the home and away seating at big time college football games back home. With a final glance he noticed the greens were mostly centered on the imperial box.  
  
He seemed to remember from before that the emperors were usually affiliated with the greens, but couldn't remember if it was something from his studies back home or something he had heard from Chloe since they had arrived back here. As he was musing over this and trying to burn this occasion into his memory, one of the subjects of his thoughts joined him at the railing to the box. As he was noticing her approach, he realized Chloe's silk gown was a shade of green which complimented the green most of the spectators in the immediate area were wearing.  
  
With the current race over the noise level in the circus dropped sufficiently so Lex could address her in a conversational tone. "Aphrodite," began Lex with a nod of his head. "I see why you chose the color of the day. What about Lana? Will her white gown be an issue?"  
  
"I see Ares has been filling you in," said Chloe, although from her expression it was clear she wasn't certain how much Clark had said. "And no, Lana's white gown will be perfectly okay. We will make it clear this is her first time at a Roman chariot race and if absolutely necessary that white is the 'official' color for the crown princess back in her homeland."  
  
Before their conversation preceded any further Clark and Lana joined them, carrying plates of honeyed fruits from a stop at the refreshment table. Lana feed a piece to Lex before asking, "I thought the emperor was going to be here?"  
  
Once Chloe finished chewing the piece Clark had similarly feed her, she answered. "The emperor should be here within the hour. I wanted us to have some time to get acclimated since none of you have been to a chariot race before, which would be extremely out of character for both Lex and Clark. Oh, by the way, Lex and Lana be sure to remember to address him as 'Your Highness' or 'Emperor Gaius' and try not to call him 'Caligula' as it is a nickname from his childhood which he really hates. At this early point in his reign he probably won't do anything if you make a mistake, but a couple of years from now he will have people tortured to death for less."  
  
Lana went very pale at this comment and even Lex felt a twinge in his gut. Not that he didn't know this already, but having it repeated while waiting to see the actual man himself was a lot different than reading about it in some old, musty textbook.  
  
"Hey," exclaimed Chloe after seeing the expressions on their faces. Grinning a silly Chloe grin, she continued. "Don't make this into a bigger deal than it is. Just stick close to Clark or me, we Gods look after our own."  
  
Lex shook his head. "Chloe, I mean Aphrodite. Why did you decide on this whole 'God' scenario?"  
  
"Oh, I would have to say the decision is based on thousands and thousands of years dealing with superstitious, barbarian civilizations. If your goal is just to enjoy a long peaceful existence, I believe I have said before it is best to be near the top of civilization. However if you need to get something done, particularly when the leadership is in turmoil and Rome's power structure will be in constant turmoil through out Caligula's reign, then you need to deal from a position of undeniable strength. If you have the guts to go for it and the ability to make it seem believable, the 'God Gambit' can give you the maximum freedom of operation. Everyone below the highest levels will just bow to your wishes and even those at the top will think twice before crossing you, as everyone knows Gods are notoriously fickle and will change their minds at the slightest provocation."  
  
"It sounds like you have done this before," remarked Lex.  
  
Chloe grinned again. "Oh, a few times. Well, more than a few times. Usually, I get started down this path when I am really pissed off at someone or something, like the Professor and Venta at this moment." Chloe shook her head. "Someday I will have to finish the story about me and the Sphinx and how I ended up the Supreme God for several hundred years over an empire next to which Rome is but a faint shadow."  
  
Like on previous occasions when Chloe made comments like this, Lex felt both awe at all of the unbelievable things she had done through the many millennia of her life and also just a little fear that to her this was all just some game. Who else would have the audacity to arrive in a place like Rome and two days later try to convince the entire city she was a god? No 'keep a low profile and quietly put out feelers for the Professor'. She would take the extreme opposite approach and be as high as profile as possible and convince an entire city to do the task for her. In her place would even his egomaniacal father have the balls to try this approach? Not fucking likely.  
  
And just like that, Clark's comment back at the spa in Tolosa about not crossing Chloe struck home to Lex. If she had the skills and the resources and the guts to convince an entire civilization to just back down and do her bidding, he never, ever wanted to seriously piss her off.  
  
As Lex's thoughts wandered down this path they were interrupted by cheers, hoots, and hollers from the surrounding crowd. However the tone of the crowd was much less strident and more jocular than at the climax of the last race. The other three turned and stepped back up to the railing to see what was going on and Lex followed suit.  
  
Looking down onto the racetrack, Lex's attention was attracted to motion down by the starting gate. The twelve gates at the starting line were all closed signaling the next race was about to begin. After several moments six of the twelve gates snapped open, however the chariots that raced out onto the course were totally unlike the contestants in the previous match. This time the chariots were like miniature versions of the real thing and each chariot was drawn by not a horse or even a pony, but by an ostrich! The chariots were manned by what at this great distance looked to be young boys. The crowd was laughing and cheering for the contestants who looked just like the real thing right down to the color coordinated racing gear.  
  
"This is so cool," exclaimed Lana as she clapped her in hands in delight.  
  
"Yeah," answered Chloe. "This is a real treat. Usually one of the 'between races' entertainments is to use dogs to pull the miniature chariots, but only on very rare occasions would you get ostriches. However, enjoy it while it lasts, they don't have the stamina of horses. They just race down to the far end once and then back here to the finish line, rather than going the standard seven laps."  
  
They all stood and watched the ostrich race for several minutes. It quickly became apparent the race might cover a lot less distance than with horse drawn chariots, but the duration of the race would be at least as long. Ostriches might be huge in size for members of the bird family however they still had a brain the size of an acorn, or if you were extremely generous perhaps a walnut. This made them difficult to train or control. Within sixty feet of leaving the starting gate the six ostrich drawn chariots were headed in six different directions. Before long, the team in the 'lead' was the team which was the first to lose the driver. After the ostrich turned in its harness and tried to attack the driver, the youth quickly fled and by chance ran down the race course with the enraged ostrich in hot pursuit.  
  
The crowd was laughing and gesturing at the antics as a number of slaves rushed out onto the track to herd the race participants in the right general direction. As Lex watched the crowd he saw many were using this time to head back into the structure of the circus to visit the food vendors, or the wine vendors, or who knows, perhaps one of the prostitutes he had seen during their trek to the imperial box. Lex himself took this opportunity to move up behind Lana and wrap his arms around her as she continued to feed him pieces of fruit over her shoulder.  
  
It was at least 15 or 20 minutes before the first of the ostriches had finally been coaxed around the track and on to the finish line. The crowd was just settling back into their seats in preparation for the next 'real' race when at least forty or fifty trumpets started to blare around the imperial box. The long ornamental looking trumpets you always saw in old movies. The emperor had arrived.  
  
'Showtime,' thought Lex, unknowingly mimicking a comment of Chloe's from earlier that day in the senatorial forum, as he psyched himself up to meet the most powerful man in this era, a man who could order your torture or death on the slightest whim. A man who in many ways had more power and fewer limitations than any mere President of the United States.  
  
End of Chapter 26 


	27. Portal Chapter 27

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 27  
  
Disappointment. That was Lex's first thought upon seeing Emperor Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus for the first time. Somehow you just expect the most powerful man within thousands of miles, if not the whole planet, to be handsome, dashing, and charismatic. But Caligula was none of those things. Lex knew he was a young man somewhere in his mid-twenties, but he looked more like forty with thin, balding, prematurely gray hair, stooped shoulders, and a gaunt, pale face. If Lex had met him back in the 21st century, he would have guessed he was the guy who drove the old beater car delivering morning newspapers or, if generous, perhaps a greeter at Wal- Mart, not that Lex had ever been in a Wal-Mart before arriving at the wonderful shopping Mecca known as Smallville.  
  
However entering the covered imperial box with him was an incredibly stunning woman. Dark hair. Tall, at least five seven and towering several inches over the emperor. Bright, intelligent eyes. Lex realized some things never change; men with power could always attract 'trophy' women.  
  
Given the grand scale of the Circus Maximus, the Imperial Box itself was of epic proportions to not look out of place. The box, with close to one hundred feet of frontage on the race course, gave the appearance of a Greek Temple to a modern eye not trained in the subtleties of Roman Architecture. Several rows of traditional Greek-style columns supported the tall, shallow-pitched roof designed to provide shade from the pounding Roman sun.  
  
Lex and his group were standing near the railing at one end of the box when the emperor arrived. Lex almost expected Caligula, no he must think of him as Gaius so he didn't make a mistake at the wrong moment, to head straight over to greet Clark and Chloe after hearing the whole 'God' scenario. However Gaius and the woman with him first went over to the small group standing at the railing in the center of the box. After shaking the hand of the man who Chloe told them was Senator Severus Gallus, the sponsor of the day's games, Gaius went up to the railing and waved to the cheering crowd. At this point, early in his reign, the general public still felt he was a worthy successor to the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius and gave him their respect and support. It wouldn't be until later that his true nature would come to light and his grip on power would only be maintained by his control of the military.  
  
After several minutes the crowd quieted down and Senator Gallus escorted the emperor over to their party. Senator Gallus was an old acquaintance of Coelia, however he hadn't yet heard about the events at the forum since he had been at the Circus all day. In his capacity as host, Gallus began the introductions.  
  
"Your Highness, may I present Coelia Dionysia Flavius and her party. Coelia, it has been way too long since I have last seen you and I am afraid I don't know your guests."  
  
Chloe smiled to Gallus. "Yes, it has been way too long. Unfortunately, I have been traveling extensively for the past six months and only returned to Rome a couple of days ago. You will have to come out for dinner some time next week."  
  
Then Chloe turned to the Emperor and gave a modest nod of her head; not the bow of a subordinate, but the sign of acknowledgement to an equal. Tilting her head to indicate Clark she began, "Gaius, I am sure you remember Ares from this morning." Then motioning towards Lex and Lana, she continued. "These are a couple of friends I met during my travels and who are staying with me while they are in Rome. May I present Lana, the Crown Princess of Caledonia, and Alexandrum Germanicus Luthorius, her Royal Consort."  
  
Both Lana and Lex performed the deep bow traditionally given to the emperor, although anyone who knew Lex well would have seen the slight hint of annoyance on his face.  
  
'Royal Consort, indeed,' thought Lex. 'Did I really treat Chloe so badly before this trip; she feels some need to get even with me? Lana gets to be a Princess. Clark and Chloe get to be Greek Gods. And me? Royal Consort. Why not just make me the Royal Concubine?'  
  
The Emperor nodded politely to Lana. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lana. You will have to tell me all about your Kingdom." Then turning to Chloe, he said in a stage whisper, "Aphrodite, are they also, you know. . ." and he trailed off with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Chloe answered with a quiet, "No," but then gave the Emperor a quick wink and a small grin to leave the whole question of whether Lana and Lex were two more Gods intentionally hazy.  
  
It was written all over Gallus' face that he was dying to ask why the Emperor called Chloe 'Aphrodite', but since no one was stepping forward with an explanation he concluded his introductions. "Coelia, may I present the Emperor's sister, Drusilla."  
  
The Emperor's beautiful companion gave them a friendly smile and a small nod of the head. Finally getting to see her up close, Lex was most intrigued with her eyes. The left eye was a crystal clear light blue, but the right eye was hazel, almost leaning towards brown. Once he had noticed her eyes it was almost difficult to look away. He could imagine how in some primitive societies she would be considered a witch or to have some mystical powers with eyes like those. Lex could only remember meeting people with different colored eyes a couple of times before in his life, but never on a beautiful woman. Lex had read the ancient stories of incest between Caligula and his sisters, but based on first impressions, he had to wonder who the instigator was and who had the actual power in their relationship.  
  
Seeing the Emperor intended to spend some time with Coelia and her party, Gallus made his departure saying he needed to see to the start of the next race. Lex pulled his attention away from Drusilla and watched Gallus return to the center portion of the railing where several men with signal flags waited to communicate with the distant starting gate.  
  
When he turned back he found Caligula, no Gaius, chatting with Clark. "So, Ares, would you like to compete in one of the upcoming races? I am sure any of the drivers would be honored to let you drive in their place."  
  
Clark appeared to think about it with a longing expression on his face for several seconds before finally shaking his head. "Thanks for the kind offer, but I think I will have to decline. You know of my reputation. If one of the other charioteers beats me badly, I will feel obliged to kill him for his arrogance. If the other drivers just let me win, I will have to kill them for that, too. I have learned from long experience competing in games against mortals always ends up with someone getting badly hurt or killed. And I am here looking to make allies, not to kill people."  
  
Caligula nodded, but his disappointment showed in his voice. "I understand. It's just I was telling Drusilla about the events this morning and she was hoping for a small demonstration of your gifts."  
  
Chloe grinned. "Maybe we could do some kind of demonstration after the next race. I used to be renowned for my archery skills. Of course, that was a very long time ago and perhaps no one remembers, but if one of your men would locate a bow, I could give it a go."  
  
As the Emperor called to one of his guards and sent him to fetch a bow, Lex wondered if she was going to do the arrow catching trick she had mentioned in one of her stories. Then he remembered the Aphrodite of legend was the God of Archers in addition to being the God of Love. Just to hear her response he asked, "Aphrodite, is it true that you lived for a time with the Amazons?"  
  
Chloe gave Lex a look saying she could read what his real question was. Then with a little twinkle in her eye she answered, "Oh, I guess you could say I lived with them for a time, but it would probably be more accurate to say I founded the order. However the whole 'cut off your right breast to improve your archery abilities' tradition developed after I was long gone." Here Chloe shook her head for a moment implying how crazy she thought that procedure was. "In my time, we might bind the breasts of particularly well developed girls or put them in metal breastplates for archery practice or actual combat, but I never condoned the self-mutilation approach."  
  
As he listened to her talk, Lex once again marveled at the sense of truth and believability she was capable of projecting. Either she was the world's greatest actress or she had at some point in her life been involved with the women on whom the legends of the Amazons were based.  
  
At this point the conversation was interrupted by trumpets announcing the next race was about to begin. Caligula turned to watch the start of the race and the others followed suit. As they looked down past Gallus towards the starting gate they saw Gallus' arm sweep down with a gold and purple stripped flag, the starting signal to the gatekeeper. Immediately the twelve gates snapped open and twelve chariots pulled by four horses each sprang forward.  
  
The central barricade, which separated the two sides of the track, began one hundred yards from the starting gates. With four horses pulling in parallel these rigs were extremely wide, at most five teams could run abreast once they were past the start of the central barricade. Therefore the first hundred yards was the most dangerous, disaster filled portion of the entire four mile long event. Some drivers felt the need to lead the race from the very beginning particularly since almost as much money was bet on who would be leading at the first turn as on who would win the entire race. Others held back to conserve their horses until they were properly warmed up and could therefore retain sufficient energy for a final, flat-out sprint. With the random assignment of starting gates, it was never clear until the starting gates opened who would be striving to be first and who would be holding back.  
  
As often happened, the driver in gate 1, who had the furthest to go, was the one most desperately trying to take the immediate lead. His rightmost horse bumped the left horse of driver number 2 which caused the horse to trip and drag down the rest of that team. In the process of going down the number 2 chariot slew out to its right and brought down the number 3 team as well.  
  
Similar jostling further down the line brought down the number 6 chariot leaving only nine teams still in the race by the time the leaders were passing the start of the central barricade. Lex felt Lana gasp at all of the hurt horses lying out on the track. When they had arrived near the end of the previous race there were several teams down, but it was a lot worse seeing them actually go down and knowing numerous legs were being broken and that many of these horses would have to be put down.  
  
Lex put his arms around Lana, pulled her tight, and whispered into her ear. "It's okay. If it helps, close your eyes and I will tell you when it is over."  
  
Lana wrapped her fingers around his and whispered back. "No, I need to get used to things here. Too bad it is not like the movies where they roll the end credits and the message comes up saying 'No animals were hurt in the making of this film'."  
  
"Yeah," whispered Lex. "I wish this was all a movie and it would end soon so we could get back to our real lives. And deal like more important and perhaps more challenging issues like telling Nell about us."  
  
Lana realized it seemed like days since she had thought about her Aunt Nell and how they were going to tell her about their apparently sudden, unexpected new relationship. If they did manage to get back home on the same day they had left, how would she explain falling madly in love with Lex during a short encounter on a one day fieldtrip to Metropolis University? Something that would appear to have happened in a few short hours but which had slowly evolved over a course of weeks while secretly trapped in the ancient Roman Empire. Perhaps they could let Nell in on the secret of the time-travel device, but could she even believe it? Or would Nell think she had gone crazy?  
  
And what about Whitney, her boyfriend for the past two years? They had had their problems lately, particularly with the recent death of his father, but could she just walk up to him and say, 'Hi, Whitney. I know you saw me yesterday, but for me that was weeks ago and during that time Lex and I have fallen deeply, hopelessly, insanely in love and I know we are meant to be together always.' Yeah, girl, that's the way to break up with your boyfriend. If anyone was keeping score, she would at least get points for originality.  
  
Of course, the biggest shock to Whitney would be how it was Lex she had fallen for. If it had to be someone, she knew Whitney's money would have been on Clark. Ever since she found out about Whitney and his jock friends turning Clark into the scarecrow for this year's homecoming game, she knew it was Clark's attention Whitney feared the most. And it was largely because of Whitney's treatment of him on homecoming night that Lana had started to spend more time around Clark to make up for things a little. But she had never had strong feelings for Clark and now that Clark and Chloe were together and she and Lex had found each other, everything felt so right.  
  
Turning within Lex's arms Lana pulled his head down until his ear was next to her lips. "Let's go find a spot to sit and let's talk a little about how we are going to handle things like Nell when we get back home."  
  
Lex pulled his head back until he could look into her beautiful soft brown eyes. Had he made a mistake mentioning Nell's name? He hadn't yet learned all of the smallest nuances of her expressions, was she truly okay with things? Lex nodded, but could still feel a fluttering deep in his gut. Perhaps it was time to start talking about how they would handle things after they got back home.  
  
So Lex and Lana found an out-of-the-way divan in a back corner of imperial box and spent the remainder of the race making some tentative decisions about the future.  
  
---------------  
  
The roar of the crowd was dying down after the end of the race when the emperor waved forward the guard who had been standing by for the past few minutes with the bow and the quiver of arrows. As the bow was handed to Chloe she requested a table be brought up to the railing. After running her hands up and down the bow several times and closely examining how the string was attached, she gave it several experimental pulls and then momentarily handed to Clark. Turning to the arrows, she spread them out on the table before critically examining each one.  
  
As she worked, she explained. "I hope you will forgive me for taking a couple of minutes to examine the arrows. Usually if I am going to try this I prefer to make my own arrows so I will know exactly how they will fly."  
  
"So, what is the demonstration to be?" asked Caligula with a barely concealed glee in his voice.  
  
"Hmm," said Chloe as her eyes first went to the emperor and then scanned around the box. "Ares, could you have someone fetch a couple of those bowls of oranges and then round up Gallus, Lex and Lana. Counting you three, that makes six which is about right." After Clark nodded and headed off, she continued. "If the six of you would each take two oranges and toss the out over the track as quickly as possible, I thought I would give a little demonstration of marksmanship."  
  
"Twelve shots at once. It hardly sounds possible," responded the emperor.  
  
As she lined up the twelve best arrows on the table, Chloe answered. "Normally, I wouldn't try that many, but this box is quite a ways up from the floor of the track and if everyone tosses their oranges fairly high, there should be enough time to get all of them."  
  
As a couple of slaves brought up the bowls of oranges Chloe looked up to see Clark returning with Gallus, Lex and Lana in tow. One glance at Lex and Lana and it was apparent to her something had happened between them after they had disappeared near the start of the race. Both of them looked so happy, much happier even than they had seemed earlier. Based on her own experience of having raised hundreds of children, Chloe could easily guess their relationship had taken some new and significant step forward. Chloe smiled; perhaps some good would come to Lex from this whole little adventure. Having all the money in the world wasn't as important as good friends, as she knew from long personal experience.  
  
As everyone gathered around, Chloe handed each person two oranges. "Okay, on the count of three I want everyone to throw their oranges as hard and as high as you can. Well, everyone except Ares. Ares, please throw yours a reasonable distance, if you throw them clear out of the circus, there is no way I am going to be able to hit yours."  
  
Everyone including Clark nodded their agreement. Lex hefted his oranges and then looked out across the circus. Straight across would be the shortest distance to throw an orange out of the stands. To clear the stands on the far side would require a toss of close to 500 feet. Could Clark really throw an orange that far or was the comment part of Chloe's scam? How much did she know about Clark's secret and could he really do it? If Clark had ripped the top off of the Porsche to get him out when it was at the bottom of the river, perhaps he could toss an orange 500 feet.  
  
Chloe had Clark, the emperor, and Drusilla line up on the other side of the column to her right and Gallus, Lex, and Lana on the far side of the column to her left, leaving her plenty of room to work without impedance from the others. After everyone was in position, Chloe picked up and positioned the first arrow and then called out. "Ready? One . . . two . . . three . . . throw!"  
  
As quickly as they could everyone threw both of their oranges. Some threw theirs straight out while others angled theirs in front of Chloe to make it easier. All in all, the twelve oranges formed a complex criss-crossing pattern. Chloe relaxed and let her nanobot-enhanced body take over.  
  
Fire.  
  
Grab the next arrow.  
  
Pull and fire.  
  
Grab the next arrow.  
  
Pull and fire.  
  
And so on it went. Chloe's eyes never left the sky as her 'bot network calculated trajectories and plotted intercept points. Her hand never faltered as it blindly reached for the next arrow lined up on the table.  
  
Over and over until twelve arrows were in the air at once, the first five having already struck their targets by the time the final one left the bow. In the end she had judged the number of oranges and arrows just right as the final arrow speared its target a mere two feet above the hard packed sand of the race course floor far below.  
  
As the remainder of the arrows thudded into the ground, each with an orange halfway up its shaft, a roar of applause arose from the stands in the immediate area of the imperial box. And then the round of applause was taken up by the occupants of the imperial box as well. Quickly everyone gathered around making ohh's and ahh's of appreciation.  
  
Lex quickly joined in with the congratulatory remarks, but he couldn't get out of his mind Chloe's comment to Clark about not throwing the orange out of the stadium and Clark's earlier admission to the big 'secret', which he still hadn't gotten around to divulging.  
  
So it was Lex, rather than the emperor, who asked. "Ares, do you want to take your turn with the bow?"  
  
As all eyes turned to him, Clark looked at Lex for a moment and then shrugged. "I suppose I could, but I have always preferred the spear to the bow. I mean the bow is good for fast, close-in work, but its range is strictly limited." Clark glanced around the box and then focused on one of the guards by the main entrance.  
  
When he spoke next his voice was directed towards the guard and had assumed the powerful commanding tone Lex had first heard outside the Circus. "You, guard, bring me your spear."  
  
The guard blanched at the attention and then started to walk over. The walk quickly broke into a trot as he saw the expression on Ares' face. When he arrived he went down on one knee before raising the spear to Ares.  
  
Clark took the spear without another glance at the guard and then walked over and pulled another orange out of the bowl.  
  
"If everyone would step further down along the railing to give me some room and then look towards the starting gates."  
  
Lex watched as Clark took the orange in his left hand and swung his arm for what at first looked to be a light underhand toss. Then his arm seemed to blur forward and the orange screamed out down the length of the race track in the direction of the starting gate. Looking back towards Clark he saw him pause for a second and then taking two steps forward he hurled the spear like a javelin thrower at the Olympics. However the speed of the spear was way beyond any javelin Lex had seen in a college track meet or even during his visit to the Sydney Olympics the year before his arrival in Smallville.  
  
The spear raced down the length of the track, its metallic head giving off flashes of light from the afternoon sun as it slowly spun on its course. Further and further until the spear looked like a toothpick and the orange would have been nearly invisible except for its bright color. Finally, a mere ten feet from the far end of the circus the spear caught up to the orange and punched through it, dead in the center. Then the spear itself impacted in the center of the farthest starting gate, penetrating through the heavy wood until the point of the spear stuck out three feet on the far side and the orange was pressed firmly up against the near side of the gate.  
  
More applause erupted from the crowd, but Lex just stood there in shock. The Olympic javelin competition was held inside a football or soccer stadium and there was no concern about javelins being thrown into the crowded stands. Lex couldn't remember the World Record for the javelin, but it couldn't be much over two hundred fifty feet, tops. And that was with a modern javelin with its weight, materials, and length optimized for distance. The throw Clark had just made with a wooden spear topped by a heavy iron head had to be pushing one thousand feet, at least four times the world record. And it wasn't just the distance. The Olympians were focused on distance, but their tosses landed all over a fairly wide arc. Clark's toss had just intersected a small moving target at a thousand feet. How far could Clark have thrown that spear if he wasn't limited by the dimension of the Circus or the need for accuracy? Lex suddenly felt the need to sit down. Suspecting Clark's abilities based on the wreckage of the Porsche was one thing, but actually witnessing this feat was something else entirely.  
  
Lex had at least been slightly prepared based on Clark's comment outside the Circus, but Clark's performance caught Lana totally off guard. She hadn't heard the rumors of the morning's events at the forum and wasn't expecting this sudden turn. Still, there was Clark's 92% correlation factor to weird events back in Smallville that she and Chloe had discussed on several occasions before this whole adventure began.  
  
Chloe was the only one of the travelers prepared for Clark's actions since she was already in on his secrets. From the moment Clark had asked for the spear she had known he was about to reveal his secret to the others. She knew how tough this decision had been for Clark after keeping everything hidden for so many years, but inside she was glad the subterfuge would finally be over. Without the continual need to keep different stories for Lex & Lana and the rest of the ancient Romans they contacted consistent and with the freedom to fully exploit Clark and her abilities, the rest of this adventure should go faster and easier.  
  
As both Lex and Lana stood thunderstruck by this latest revelation and Chloe waited patiently to see where Clark intended to take this next, Clark turned to the emperor and said. "Well, I, for one, feel I have seen enough chariot racing for today. I am ready for that feast you mentioned this morning."  
  
The emperor, who was the only one present other than Ares and Aphrodite to have witnessed the morning's events, was quickest to recover from this latest exhibition. Taking Ares' arm he turned towards the exit from the imperial box. "Yes, yes, it is all being set up back at the palace. Perhaps along the way you could tell me a little about Olympus, I am so looking forward to visiting there one day."  
  
End of Chapter 27 


	28. Portal Chapter 28

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 28  
  
Drusilla, the emperor's sister, convinced Senator Gallus to turn over his responsibilities for the final two races to his nephew so he could join their party as they headed over to the imperial palace for the evening's feast. Gallus loved chariot racing and had been so happy to have finally been able to sponsor a day's races at the Circus Maximus. But after the little show Ares and Aphrodite had put on, he was willing to forgo the last races in return for the opportunity to spend a couple more hours learning about them. So after giving his nephew a couple of last minute instructions, he escorted Drusilla from the box.  
  
After one last look at the spear still protruding from the distant starting gate, Lana and Lex turned to join Chloe and then followed the others out of the imperial box.  
  
As they started to walk, Lana quietly asked in English, "How did Clark do that? I can understand from your stories how your nanobots allowed you to did your little exhibition, but what about Clark? No way should he have been able to throw the spear that far."  
  
After pausing to think for a moment, Chloe said, "I think it is best if you wait and ask him that question. I am sure, once we have some time alone, he will explain everything."  
  
Lana nodded her acceptance. It seemed like Chloe knew the answer, but felt uncomfortable speaking without Clark's concurrance. She had shared a few secrets during her own life and understood the responsibility. Therefore she turned to other matters. "Okay, I'll ask him. But perhaps you could explain a little more about your new cover story. Before we arrived you mentioned Clark was going by the name of Ares and you might be referred to as Aphrodite, in addition to Coelia. Then there was the whole conversation about Gods and Clark's subsequent little demonstration. How does it all fit together?"  
  
"Sorry we didn't have a chance to go into all of this before. We thought with Clark's and my abilities, playing 'Gods' might be the best way to intimidate the superstitious people back here and help neutralize the Professor and Venta's advantage of having spent the past decade setting up their powerbase. In places like this, I have found superstition can be more effective than even gold. So, if we were going to play gods, why not be the most famous ones - the Gods of Love and War."  
  
Lana got this perplexed look on her face for a moment before asking, "Umm, I thought Venus was the Goddess of Love?"  
  
"Yes, in Roman mythology Venus was the Goddess of Love, however in Greek mythology Aphrodite was the Goddess of Love.  
  
"So, why are you going by Aphrodite? I mean, we are in Rome, duh. Shouldn't you be going by Venus instead of Aphrodite?"  
  
Chloe looked over at Lana and over her shoulder she could see a small smile forming on Lex's face. "Lex, do you know why we are going by Aphrodite and Ares rather than by Venus and Mars?"  
  
Lex shrugged. "I think so, but I wouldn't mind hearing your explanation."  
  
"Okay," said Chloe before addressing Lana. "To understand this you need to learn a little about Roman history and the Roman psyche. Romans are not native to this area. In the same way the Goths will overrun and sack Rome four hundred years from now, the Romans overran the previous residents, the Etruscans. Well, not exactly the same way. The Goths looted, raped, and killed, but ultimately they moved on and life here returned to more or less as it was before. But not when the Romans overran the Etruscans. They utterly destroyed the Etruscan civilization. Smashed all of their art and statuary. Burned all of their writings. Killed all of the storytellers and musicians. And the Etruscans had their own wonderful musical style, which has now been lost forever, except in my memories. But I digress, the Romans did everything they could to wipe out all traces of the Etruscans before settling down on their freshly-won, new lands.  
  
"But the Romans had been nomadic barbarians for centuries before arriving central Italy and had never had their own traditions of art, music, or culture. Once they were settled, they realized the mistake they had made, and they set out to change things. But Romans are not, at heart, artists. They are excellent warriors, administrators, even engineers. But not artists or philosophers. Ultimately, they came into contact with the Greek civilization, which was already at its peak when Rome was still struggling to control all of central Italy. And they found the art and culture they had been striving to create.  
  
"You wouldn't believe how quickly, certainly not more than fifteen or twenty years, before Rome was transformed into their fantasy image of all things Greek. In the early days, it was in many ways more Greek than any real place in Greece. Sort of like one of those little villages at Epcot Center. On the outside it looks like the real thing, but it is all merely a facade. Of course it was more than just the architecture they borrowed. No, it was their artwork, their language, and even their Gods."  
  
When Chloe paused briefly to catch her breath, Lex interjected, "So the early Romans were the exact opposite of the modern French. The French are so obsessed with not losing their cultural heritage they do seemingly insane things like legislate against the use of 'American' words or severely limit the amount of 'American' TV shows allowed on their networks. Yet the Romans were happily giving up what cultural traditions they had in favor of Greek ones?"  
  
"Exactly. Oh, they made minor changes like the names of the Gods and they even went so far as adding Augustus to the ranks of the Gods. But if you really questioned hard the man in the street, he would admit Augustus was merely a man. And more important to us, he would also say the Roman variation of the Gods were not real, either.  
  
"That's why I selected Ares and Aphrodite rather than Mars and Venus. If we used Mars and Venus, regardless of what spectacular things we did, most people in their hearts would not believe us and realize it was a scam. But say we are Greek Gods and everyone here will go out of their way trying to believe."  
  
Lex nodded, "Yeah, that's more or less what I thought from my studies of history. I think their architecture is one of the key clues. I mean, the Romans were the first true masters of the barrel vault, which is more efficient and powerful than anything the Greeks had, but the Romans only used it for very utilitarian applications like bridges and aqueducts. But for all of their important public buildings they stuck to the Greek standard."  
  
"Or," said Chloe. "When they built on a grand scale where the use of the vault became necessary, they usually hid it behind a Greek facade or Greek Statues. It is too bad the Coliseum is not built yet so you could see what I mean. The portions of the structure that remain standing in modern times clearly show all of the vaulted arches needed to make that project feasible. But the original, completed Coliseum was trimmed out with layer after layer of Greek columns, porticoes, and statues until all traces of the underlying structure were hidden from view."  
  
"Okay, so the bottom-line is, if you had said you were Roman Gods, no one would really have believed you, but by claiming to be Greek Gods they do?"  
  
Chloe nodded.  
  
Lana shook her head. "I guess I am glad I am not in your place or I think I would have made a big mistake."  
  
Chloe shrugged. "If you had spent decades or centuries living among the Etruscans, the Greeks, the Romans, and a hundred other primitive societies, these things would be equally clear to you."  
  
Lana ran her fingers through her long, dark hair for a moment. "Well, that is unlikely to ever happen to me. I will have to trust to your insight. Hopefully, you can prevent me from putting my foot into my mouth at the wrong time."  
  
Chloe grinned. "I'll try."  
  
End of Chapter 28 


	29. Portal Chapter 29

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 29  
  
Boredom. No, that's not quite correct, thought Lex as he took another small, carefully measured sip of his severely diluted wine. He wasn't bored as much as eager to get on to other things. In other circumstances or several years earlier when his life was centered on hard partying, he wouldn't have been bored. How often did you get to party with a Roman Emperor? And tonight the string of entertainment seemed endless: poets, singers, dancers, acrobats, jugglers, magicians, and even a comedian who reminded him of Rodney Dangerfield in a toga. Had he ever seen Rodney in a toga in some movie? At the moment all that came to mind was the movie where he had been rich, gone back to college along with his son, hired Kurt Vonnegut to write a paper about Kurt Vonnegut and then got a failing grade on the paper.  
  
All he wanted was to get past this feast/celebration/whatever and get some time alone with Clark to finally learn about Clark's 'secret'. And from the looks Lana had been sending Clark's way all evening; he knew she felt the same. However this evening seemed to drag on and on. It had been mid- afternoon when Clark had admitted to his secret and late afternoon when he had given his little demonstration with the spear. Now it had to be well after midnight and Lex didn't feel any closer to learning the truth.  
  
Drumming his fingers he tried to force his attention back to the conversation between Clark and the emperor. All evening Chloe and Clark had been regaling Gaius with stories about Olympus. In the beginning Lex recognized some of Chloe's comments as being at least marginally related to the 'traditional' Olympus, but as the evening progressed the stories kept drifting further and further a field. At the moment Clark was going on about his adventures with Apollo and Hercules in a distant land filled with wizards, elves, dwarves, and hobbits where they had searched for a magically ring which gave the wearer the power of invisibility.  
  
At least a story based on 'Lord of the Rings' felt somewhat appropriate in this context unlike Chloe's earlier story involving Elvis and girls in grass skirts. Although Chloe's story did have the advantage of ending with Chloe and Lana giving a demonstration of a hula dance. Lex had been surprised when Lana transitioned to singing Elvis' 'All Shook Up' complete with his patented pelvic motion. Back when they had told her that her cover story was as the Princess of Caledonia and how her father was King Elvis, she had never expressed any particular enthusiasm for Elvis, so the fact she knew all of the words to a song that had been popular twenty years before she was born had been an interesting surprise. But after a mere ten days together, Lex realized he still had a lot to learn about Lana's interests.  
  
After much laughing, giggling, and applause for their performance the girls had headed off to ladies' room to freshen up. For all his experience with women, Lex still didn't understand why they always went in groups. However in this instance he was glad they did as he wasn't comfortable with Lana being alone in this still scary, barbaric society, particularly while away from the relative safety of Chloe's estate. At least being with Chloe and all of her experience, Lana should be safe. Along with not understanding why girls always went in groups he also didn't understand what took them so long. Without his watch he couldn't be sure, but it felt like they had been gone at least fifteen minutes. Boy, he missed his watch. And his morning coffee at the Talon. And his cars. At the moment he just wanted to learn Clark's secret, find the Professor and his meteor rocks, and go home.  
  
Turning his attention back to Clark and the Emperor, he found himself drawn into a conversation about the mythical Ents of Middle-Earth. Elves, dwarves, and even hobbits had some equivalent creature in Roman, Greek, or some other mythology to which the emperor was familiar, but Ents? Giant tree creatures that could walk and talk? The emperor was obviously enchanted with these unusual creatures he had never heard of before.  
  
Lex was surprised how well he got along with the Emperor. He had expected someone who was crazy, or scary, or something, but Gaius came across as a charming, genial host. No mistreatment of the slaves. No personal references of cruelty. Whatever caused his horrific historical reputation must have been triggered by something still in the future. Of course, from the looks the emperor gave him, perhaps the reason they got along came down to Lex's lack of hair. From what Lex had observed of the Emperor, he did seem to be surrounded by a surprisingly high percentage of men with little or no hair.  
  
The conversation about Ents had been going on for some time when Lex realized he had already subconsciously glanced several times at the doorway where the girls had disappeared. Where were they? It had to be close to thirty minutes since they had departed. Suddenly, he got a very bad, queasy feeling in his stomach.  
  
Going with his instinct, Lex quickly moved over to Clark's side and leaned in close. "Ares, I am concerned about the girls. Let's go find them."  
  
Clark looked up at Lex with a questioning expression on his face that quickly turned to concern as he glanced around the room. He had been so wrapped up in his Lord of the Rings story, he hadn't even notice the girls hadn't returned. He nodded and explained to the Emperor they would be right back. As the Emperor nodded and turned to talk to Senator Gallus, Clark quickly stood and headed for the exit from the banquet hall.  
  
The marble-lined hallway outside the banquet room was poorly lit this late at night by pairs of candles in sconces every dozen feet along right wall. It was eerily quiet after the noise of the banquet hall. Both men walked in silence listening for any out of place sound, their thoughts too focused on the girls to allow for idle banter. Lex's growing sense of foreboding put thoughts of Clark's secret on temporary hold.  
  
The women's lounging area was located fifty feet up the main corridor and then down a smaller corridor to the left. As Clark and Lex reached the turn, they spotted two large lumps that could only be bodies, lying in the gloom halfway down the side corridor. Both men broke into a run. No longer feeling the need to hold back one hundred percent since partially revealing his secret, Clark reached the first body and had already rolled it over when Lex caught up.  
  
Lex let out a quick sigh of relief when he discovered it was the body of a man and not one of the girls. Kneeling down to get a closer look in the poor light, his knee touched the slowly spreading pool of blood. He jerked back as Clark said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Look at the emblem on his scabbard. He is one of Chloe's guards. Shit, what happened here?"  
  
Clark quickly moved to the other body and discovered it was another of Chloe's guards.  
  
Absently rubbing at the blood on his knee with the edge of his robe while quickly inspecting the first body, Lex speculated in a much calmer voice than the way he suddenly felt inside. "He never drew his sword. He was either taken by surprise or by someone he didn't perceive as a threat."  
  
Not knowing what they might run into next, Lex drew the dead guard's sword. Standing, he turned towards Clark to urge them on their way to find the girls when he discovered Clark standing in the middle of the hall slowly turning in a circle staring straight forward as he rotated. Most of the time Clark was staring intently at the blank stone walls.  
  
"Ahh, Clark? What are you doing?"  
  
Clark held up a hand signaling for Lex to wait as he continued his turn. Using his x-ray vision Clark was hurriedly exploring all of the adjacent rooms. At this moment he wished Chloe's body gave off a distinctive pattern in his special sight like so many of the meteor freaks back home. Unfortunately, her nanobots were such minute devices they were invisible in the relatively coarse view his x-ray vision provided. And except for her nanobots Chloe's body looked perfectly normal in every way.  
  
Finally, having almost completed his three hundred and sixty degree turn, Clark spotted two more bodies lying in a room off to the left, thirty feet further down to the corridor. He couldn't tell who they were other than the bone structure indicated bodies of much lighter build than the two guards they had just found.  
  
Shouting for Lex to follow, Clark raced off down the corridor and quickly disappeared through the second archway on the left.  
  
As Lex sprinted after Clark his heart was pounding as much due to fear as to exertion. What had happened to the girls? Was Lana alright? What could he have done to prevent this? What would he do if he lost her, after it seemed like they had just found each other?  
  
Rounding the corner into the room where Clark had disappeared, Lex jerked to a halt when he saw Clark crouching over two more bodies. Bodies that even in the faint moon light from the open doorway to the terrace beyond were obviously women.  
  
Lex's heart was pounding even harder and his knees felt ready to buckle when Clark looked up and said with a relieved tone in his voice. "It's not them."  
  
Lex slowly walked over and looked at the bodies: slave girls caught in whatever had happened here. Struck down without mercy. Both run through with swords allowing their life's blood to pour out onto the formerly white and blue marble mosaic floor.  
  
"What happened here?" asked Lex still in slight daze at this staggering change in events. One minute dining with the emperor and now this.  
  
Clark had risen from the bodies and was again using his x-ray vision to try and find a clue to what happened to the people here and also to how and where Chloe and Lana had disappeared. As he scanned the walls, he said one word. "Venta."  
  
"Venta?" echoed Lex who hadn't met the man yet. "You think he grabbed the girls from the emperor's own palace after the little show you did for him this morning?"  
  
By this point Clark had completed his scan of this room and the rooms immediately beyond without seeing anything that struck him as a significant clue. He turned to join Lex who was heading out onto the terrace to escape the growing stench of death.  
  
"I don't understand why, but I can't see who else has a sufficient reason to attack them here."  
  
Standing on the terrace located on the side of the imperial palace, they looked out across the portion of Rome lying north of the Palatine hill. Unlike a modern city with its thousands of streetlights and never-ending stream of traffic, Rome was mostly dark and quiet by this time of night. A few torches were burning at major intersections and faint singing drifted up the hill from some nearby tavern, but most of the lighting was provided by the clear sky and the three quarters moon almost directly overhead.  
  
Clark began scanning the visible portion of the city for any signs of unusual activity. Starting on the hillside below the palace, he scanned left to right and back again, slowly working further and further away hoping to see people running or carrying bodies or something. But nothing was visible in the city streets below this terrace and as he started inspecting the terrain leading to the raised plateau beyond, he began to think whoever had grabbed the girls must have headed out the south side of the palace instead. He was almost ready to give in to his restless energy to move, to do something, anything, and head to the south side of the palace, when he spied the hulking structure up on the plateau a mile to the north.  
  
Pointing suddenly, Clark exclaimed. "There!"  
  
Lex looked in the indicated direction, but all he could see was the dimly moonlit building on the hill beyond. "Do you see them?" Not certain whether he wanted a positive or negative response.  
  
Clark shook his head. "No, sorry. I just meant that large building on the rise over there. Chloe pointed it out to me this morning. It's the Castra Praetoria. The Praetorian's Camp here in Rome. Venta's headquarters. If he grabbed the girls, I think that's where he would have taken them."  
  
Lex looked more closely at the structure. Even in the darkness he could tell that it was huge. And it contained the only significant fighting force allowed in Rome. Since he knew Venta was working with the Professor, he had asked a few questions about the Praetorians since his arrival in Rome. Nine cohorts of Praetorians, over five thousand men, where stationed in Rome. All based at the Praetorian's Camp. Their first allegiance supposedly to the emperor, but more likely to their leader, Venta. Was this the first step of Venta's planned coup? Was the Rhine Army closer than they believed?  
  
And what resources did he and Clark have to draw on here? Chloe's household had at most 100 guardsmen and perhaps a few hundred more men who could pressed into service in an emergency, but not nearly enough to storm a fortified position defended by 5000 trained men.  
  
If a direct frontal assault was out that left entry by stealth or trying to get the emperor's aid. Neither remaining option seemed likely to lead to a fast rescue of the girls. Why had Venta grabbed the girls? What was he planning to do to them?  
  
As these thoughts circled around and around in his head, Lex asked in a shaky voice. "How are we going to get Lana and Chloe back from the man who has control of all of the troops in the city?"  
  
Clark straightened his back and when he responded he was again using the powerful commanding voice he had demonstrated to the man outside of the Circus Maximus earlier in the afternoon. A time that suddenly felt like weeks ago. "I thought I made it clear to Venta this morning. Don't FUCK with Gods. Well, he is going to learn that now, if I have to destroy the entire Praetorian Camp to prove it."  
  
Then Clark headed back into the palace at a run, although slow enough to allow Lex to keep up. He didn't want to lose Lex, too. Why had he allowed Chloe to talk him into playing games with Venta? He should have gone with his first instinct and just neutralized Venta at the earliest opportunity. Well, he would not make that mistake again. And if Venta had hurt either of the girls, he was going to regret ever having been born.  
  
Lex raced after Clark wondering what was going through his friend's mind. Okay, based on the show with the spear at the chariot races, Clark seemed to be at least four or five times stronger than an ordinary man, but how did he expect to go one on one against what was essentially a fort defended by five thousand men? Had all of the talk of Gods gone to his head? Was he cracking under the stress of losing Chloe?  
  
Lex was panting hard and clutching at a cramp in his side when their headlong dash through the palace ended outside the main entrance on the south side of the building. Running had definitely not been on his agenda when he was eating the 14 course meal this evening. As he stood bent over and gasping in the humid night air, Clark was at the bottom of the stairs commandeering a pair of horses from the military messengers who were always stationed there. When they offered more than a second's argument at surrendering their horses to a civilian, Clark took out the tiniest fraction of the frustration he was feeling by quickly dropping them both to the ground.  
  
As Lex came staggering down the stairs, Clark ran up and literally grabbed him and threw him up onto the nearest horse. Spinning Lex's horse until he faced east, Clark quickly vaulted onto the other horse and kicked him into a gallop.  
  
Lex quickly kicked his own horse in pursuit of Clark's mad dash. Looking down he noticed he was still clutching the dead guard's sword. Needing both hands to control the horse and frankly, to just hang on, Lex managed to slide the sword blade between his left thigh and the saddle. With the near death grip he found his legs exerting on the horse, there was little risk of losing the blade.  
  
Around the perimeter of the palace they raced before turning on a northerly course towards their destination. Clark tried to stick to the main thoroughfares to give them room to avoid the meager late night pedestrian traffic with the minimum of slowing. As they raced along, Clark wondered if they should have forgone the horses and if he should have just carried Lex. However, if all Venta had wanted was to kill Chloe and Lana, he could have done that at the palace just like he had killed Chloe's guards and the slave girls. No, he must want them for something else which meant he wouldn't kill them immediately. And with a maximum thirty minute head start to a destination over a mile away, there should still be plenty of time before Venta did anything too severe. Or at least that was what Clark tried to convince himself. Hopefully, they were just intended to be hostages to draw him in. If that was the case, Venta was in for a rude awakening when he got his wish from an extremely pissed off Clark.  
  
Lex was still trying to fathom what Clark intended to do when they reached the Praetorian's Camp. He wished Clark had found the opportunity to explain his secret before this, because Lex couldn't see how the two of them were going to take on five thousand men in what was apparently going to be a frontal attack. At this moment he had no choice but to follow Clark's lead, but he had no desire to die in some futile attempt. He knew in his heart he would gladly sacrifice himself to save Lana, but he was pragmatic enough not to want to die if there wasn't at least some hope of getting the girls free.  
  
The broad avenue they eventually found themselves on swept up to the top of the plateau about half a mile east of Praetorian Camp. Approached from this side, the large Field of Mars was spread out between them and the Praetorian Camp. Somehow with Clark going today by the name Ares, the Greek version of Mars, it seemed to Lex to be appropriate that perhaps their final adventure might end on the Field of Mars.  
  
As they rode closer it became apparent the title 'Praetorian Camp', which implied to the modern mind a simple dirt wall surrounding a field of tents, was not at all accurate. The Praetorian Camp had been created in its present form during the early years of Emperor Tiberius' reign, nearly twenty years earlier. The Praetorians themselves had been created more than fifty years ago by Emperor Augustus to ensure his safety after the ugly precedent of Julius Caesar's assassination in the forum. However under Augustus only three of the nine cohorts had been stationed in Rome with the remaining cohorts located in nearby villages and towns. It wasn't until Tiberius came to power that all of the cohorts were collocated to Rome.  
  
Displaying the luxury and grandeur befitting the Emperor's personal guards stationed in the most important city of the current era, the Praetorian Camp was extremely large, its outer wall enclosing an area over thirteen hundred feet wide by one thousand feet deep. However much as Rome itself had outgrown its original protective wall and now, at the peak of her power, depended on the strength of her far-flung Legions for her protection, so too was the Praetorian Camp designed more for a display of wealth and power than to function as a secure citadel for the Emperor during times of potential invasion.  
  
The Praetorian Camp's outer wall was over twenty feet high tapering from over nine feet thick at the base to six feet thick at the battlements at the top. The wall had inner and outer faces of stone, brick, and mortar. The inner core of the wall was formed with fill rubble to give it some much needed mass. However it had never been designed to withstand serious assault from an invading army armed with siege towers or catapults.  
  
No, the outer wall and twenty foot wide encircling moat were primarily designed for show rather than function, although they had demonstrated on several occasions sufficient strength to withstand disorganized attacks by out-of-control mobs when the free dole of food was reduced or late in arriving.  
  
Not that Lex could see all these details during their late night approach. From their vantage point all he saw was the high outer wall topped by crenellated battlements to protect the patrolling guards from small projectile fire like arrows, lances, and spears. The only opening in the thirteen hundred foot long wall they were facing was a single large forty foot wide drawbridge style gate. A gate that was currently in its up and closed position leaving a twenty foot wide unbroken barrier of water along the base of the wall.  
  
While they were still several hundred feet from the Praetorian fortress, Clark dismounted and continued walking at a brisk pace towards the central gate with Lex perforce to follow suit. From foot and in the dark, the massive outer wall already appeared to stretch from horizon to horizon.  
  
They had approached within fifty feet of the water barrier when the guards acknowledged their presence. "Halt, who goes there?" Came the shouted challenge.  
  
Clark continued his approach in silence until he finally stood five feet from the edge of the moat. Then he roared out in a voice that by itself seemed almost sufficient to shake down the wall, "I AM ARES. I WILL SPEAK WITH VENTA, NOW!"  
  
As soon as Clark started his address, Lex was forced to slap his hands to his ears and turn away, not that it made much difference as Clark's words seemed to vibrate through his very bones. My god, thought Lex, what is Clark?  
  
The gate guards had an advantage over Lex of being somewhat further away, but still the voice that responded had lost its calm indifference and taken on a hint of a stammer. "Th-the gates are closed for the night. You will have to return in th-the morning."  
  
"NO. YOU WILL OPEN THIS GATE NOW."  
  
The voice that responded this time was not some lowly, easily intimidated guard, but clearly belonged to someone with long command experience. Someone not so easily shaken by only a loud voice. "I am Centurion Tobias Aloysius Wido. I was told you might show up. I was ordered to have you killed the moment you appeared, but I am an honorable man. Therefore leave at once or I will have my men open fire. This is your only warning." At this point over thirty archers made themselves visible at the openings in the battlements along the top of the wall.  
  
Lex had straightened up and turned back to the wall just in time to see the archers pulling back on their drawstrings. 'Please Clark', he found himself thinking, 'Back down, there must be another way.' Unfortunately, as soon as Clark opened his mouth, Lex knew he wasn't going to back down and he was sure this was going to be the end. The end. Here he was a brilliant, up- and-coming 21st century businessman about to die in a hail of arrows in ancient Rome because of a science project, he had so deviously, and he had thought at the time, cleverly usurped from his father, had gone disastrously wrong. And when he should have been focused on finding a way to get out of this situation, all he could do was think about the raven haired beauty he had so recently found and was about to lose, wishing he could see her or at least have had a chance to say good-bye. "Lana," Lex whispered softly.  
  
"YOUR PUNY ARCHERS MEAN NOTHING TO ME. BRING VENTA TO ME NOW OR FEEL A GOD'S WRATH." Bellowed Clark in return to the centurion.  
  
"Fire," said Wido in a tone that said honor had been served and if the fool down below was so eager to die, he was more than willing to oblige him so he could get back to the game of dice he had been playing with the other three squad leaders also on guard duty this evening. Wido had heard the rumors floating around about the events in the forum the previous morning, but as an experienced warrior, who had been through many campaigns, he had put no credence in the talk of Gods and magic, so he had never given the rumors a second thought when he had been given his orders should an 'Ares' arrive at the gate tonight.  
  
So Wido was stunned when the man calling himself Ares stepped closely in front of the other man just before the archers let loose. As the arrows rained down on the man, his arms appeared to blur in the dim light from the moon. At least two dozen of the arrows had hit the man to no effect and when the volley was over the man's hands slowed to a halt each clasping the shafts of seven or eight arrows that would otherwise have hit the other man.  
  
Right as the man on the wall shouted 'fire' Clark's tall frame had stepped in front of Lex. Lex was almost hurt by this chivalrous attitude of Clark's implying he was willing to die to shield his friend and that Lex was not man enough to stand with him shoulder to shoulder at the end. Lex was scared almost out of his wits at this moment and wanted nothing more than to close his eyes, but at his core he was a Luthor and he would stare his death in the eye.  
  
So Lex watched the arrows descend on them. Unlike in most of the old movies he had seen, these arrows did not arch high up into the sky. No, because of their position directly below the wall, the arrows were aimed directly at them. No hope of them missing or of dodging out of the way. Almost at once the cloud of arrows was upon them, glinting faintly in the light of the handful of torches several guards had lifted above the battlements. And then for several seconds parts of Clark's body, which was less then eighteen inches in front of Lex, seemed almost to blur. Lex could hear the faint thuds of arrows hitting Clark's body, but no corresponding gasps or cries of pain.  
  
Then this volley was over and Lex realized Clark was still standing and now each hand was clutching a number of arrows. As he watched in fascination, Clark's hands tighten into fists until all of the shafts shattered with an audible snap and the broken remnants slipped to the ground.  
  
As Clark plucked at the numerous shafts trapped in his robe, he shook his head and called up to the centurion in an almost disappointed sounding tone. "I am also known for my honor in battle. I will give you one minute to open this gate and surrender Venta to me. Or use that minute to say your final prayers for you shall feel a true God's anger." Then Clark turned and headed back out towards the center of the field being careful to keep his body between Lex and the archers.  
  
Lex for the moment walked in stunned silence. When Clark turned to him he still had a number of arrows embedded into his tunic. Arrows, which because of the short range and downward angle, should have slammed straight through his body and been protruding inches from his back. It was hard to see clearly in the low light, but if Clark was bleeding there should have been countless dark stains on his white robe, but other than the small tears it still looked pristine.  
  
When Lex's brain started functioning again his first thought was that they were still alive and therefore there was still a chance he might see Lana again. His second thought was even though it was apparent Clark was arrow- proof, it didn't get them any closer to rescuing the girls.  
  
Finally, as he realized Clark had been angling diagonally across the field to some low buildings along the edge, Lex found his voice. With only a hint of the shakiness he was feeling, Lex asked simply, "What comes next?"  
  
Having reached the first building, which Lex guessed from the smell was the ancient Roman equivalent of a fast food restaurant, Clark found him a sheltered spot from which he could lean against the building for support and still have a view of the field and the Praetorian Camp. "Are you okay?" Asked Clark.  
  
Lex paused for a moment and then taking a deep breath he nodded.  
  
Clark gave him a smile in return, but because of the events of the past few minutes, it no longer seemed like the same naive, embarrassed, farm boy smile Lex had witnessed previously after other near death experiences they had shared. Maybe it was realizing that it wasn't some fluke or coincidence or dumb luck that had saved him, but the active use of Clark's 'secret' abilities. Perhaps the knowledge of Clark's 'secret' would change their relationship in ways he hadn't anticipated.  
  
Glancing back towards the still closed gate of the fortress, Clark answered Lex's question. "Next comes 'The Wrath of Clark' falling on the Praetorians. Please wait here, it will all be over in five minutes and I need to be able to find you when I return with the girls. And if things get a little crazy, I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire." Looking back into Lex's eyes Clark asked. "Will you be okay here?"  
  
Lex could read in Clark's face that he was uncomfortable leaving him alone after losing the girls when they had been unattended, but that he needed the freedom of movement if whatever plan he had in mind was going to succeed. Lex put on the stoic Luthor face he hadn't had cause to use much since Chloe's secret had come to light and she had taken control of the adventure. "Clark, I will be fine. Just go do your usual thing and rescue the girls."  
  
Clark gave him a solemn nod and then took another glance at the still closed gate. "Well, I would say their minute is definitely up. Time for Ares, the Greek God to return." Then he gave Lex a quick wink implying the whole Ares thing was just a cover and then dashed off onto the field.  
  
Perhaps dashed off is not the right term for the new, improved quasi post- 'secret' Clark, thought Lex. He took three accelerating steps and then it was like he was suddenly moving so fast he couldn't be seen. Like the episode from the old 'Wild, Wild West' TV show where the special elixir made from diamonds enable the user to move so fast everyone else seemed frozen in time. Or perhaps the similar episode from the original Star Trek series where the invaders from the other galaxy moved too fast to be seen and their presence was only noticeable as a faint mosquito-like buzzing.  
  
Whatever the cinematic analogy, the thing Lex noticed in the three steps Clark took before he vanished was that he was not headed back towards the fortress' solitary gate. Instead he was headed in the direction of the giant granite obelisk standing in the center of the field. Lex had noticed it when they had first arrived, but had been so focused on the Praetorian Camp; he had paid it little attention. Even without seeing the hieroglyphs carved into the four faces, Lex assumed, based on similar obelisks they had seen at the Circus Maximus and other places around the city, this was another of the many columns Emperor Augustus had looted from Egypt after his battles there against Marc Anthony and Cleopatra.  
  
Over the years of his reign, Augustus had over twenty of the great spires shipped to Rome. Following in his tradition, many other emperors would also have obelisks shipped from Egypt or copies made locally, until by 200 A.D. over 75 Egyptian Obelisks would find their home in Rome, more than survived in any single Egyptian location. Most of these great monuments would fall over time due to natural forces, vandalism, or scavenging for building materials. By the end of the dark ages none remained standing and it wouldn't be until Pope Sextus 'The Builder' started in the 16th century his grand project to rebuild Rome that many of these great Obelisks would be rediscovered and re-erected at major intersections of the new grand boulevards.  
  
The giant obelisk in the Field of Mars was not the largest or most famous obelisk currently in Rome, but it was by no means insignificant. Originally quarried during the reign of the Pharaoh Amosis to honor the God Horus for his aid in driving the alien Hykos rulers from Egypt after their hundred and twenty six year dominion, this obelisk was already over sixteen hundred years old when its path crossed this night with Ares.  
  
The obelisk was a single giant piece of red granite standing fifty three feet tall. With its square cross-section, each of the four faces were six feet wide at the base tapering to four feet wide at the top on which was mounted a six foot diameter, gold-leaf covered globe. The whole 120 ton column rested on top of a 12 foot tall pedestal giving the complete structure an overall height of sixty five feet.  
  
Like many of these giant obelisks in pre-clock era Rome, this one was used as the central spire of a giant sundial. In this case the small tic-marks of a normal sized sundial were replaced by large four foot cubes of matching granite in an arc across the field on the north side of the obelisk.  
  
From the moment Clark accelerated out of view, only a fraction of a second passed before he lowered his right shoulder and slammed his body into the supporting pedestal, intentionally slightly off-center to the northern side. Instantly, a massive crash of shattering, exploding granite echoed out across the empty field. As the support for the massive obelisk gave way it slowly started to lean over to the side. Gradually it accelerated, faster and faster, until it came crashing down towards the ground.  
  
Almost before the sound reached Lex he could see the obelisk start to lean. At first he wasn't certain what had caused the obelisk to fall other than it must have been related to Clark as he had been headed in that direction. Finally, Clark's speed had slowed sufficiently that even under the soft moonlight Lex could see him again. And then Lex's blood froze has he lost sight of Clark for a second time. Although this time it was not because he had accelerated out of view. No, this time he was lost from view because he was standing in the shadow of the descending obelisk. And he would only be in the shadow of the obelisk if he was directly beneath the massive falling object. The stone which Lex knew had to weigh countless tons.  
  
Lex stood there frozen waiting for the thunderous crash of the obelisk hitting the ground which would be the death-knoll of his best friend. But the crash never came and Lex realized the obelisk was hovering parallel to the ground. And then slowly turning until the golden sphere was pointed directly at the drawbridge/gate of the Praetorian Fort.  
  
Clark staggered briefly as the incredible weight landed on his up stretched arms. Never in his life had he tried to lift something of this magnitude. The giant stone must weigh one hundred times the family tractor back home he had lifted so often in helping with his father's repairs. But as he groaned slightly and his legs trembled, he focused on Venta and what he might be doing to Chloe and Lana inside the fortress at this very moment. Letting his rage build he slowly tightened his grip on the edges of the obelisk until the very stone started to crumble. Slowly he turned until the mighty spear was pointed at the massive gate, his momentary enemy. Finally ready, he took several slow, deep breaths to prepare his body and then with three strides forward to build some momentum, he hurled the weapon forward with every ounce of his great strength.  
  
The immense projectile shot rapidly across the intervening 500 feet from its original resting spot to the closed entry of the fort. Starting from seven feet off the ground when it left Clark's hands, it climbed to a maximum of fourteen feet before settling back to six feet off the ground when it reached the gate, the whole while remaining perfectly parallel to the ground.  
  
The lightweight hollow globe on top of the obelisk reached the gate first and instantly was crushed flat by the momentum of the massive stone spear. The obelisk itself connected with the massive gate and it was unlike the impact of any other battering-ram before or since. Few battering-rams ever weighed 120 tons and none ever impacted with the speed of this ancient Egyptian column. All other battering-rams were limited to the speed of the men carrying it or the pendulum used to swing it and depended on many repeated blows to slowly wear down the obstruction. But Clark's incredible throw had accelerated the obelisk so that it was traveling at nearly 100 miles per hour when it impacted on the gate.  
  
The gate, which was used also as a drawbridge, was very stoutly built of foot thick timbers reinforced with iron plates to withstand the constant traffic including loads of timber and stone used to complete the construction of the internal buildings of the fortress after the outer wall was initially complete. Additionally, when the drawbridge was up and locked it was further supported by three massive eighteen inch diameter cross-braces which required a squad of eighteen men to install and remove. However under the impact of a 120 ton granite column traveling at 100 miles per hour, the gate held for less than three milliseconds before shattering in a destructive cloud of shrapnel which quickly pulverized everything behind the gate for one hundred feet.  
  
With the gate offering little resistance to the obelisk, the obelisk continued on its steady gravity induced path to the ground. The tip of the obelisk was fifteen feet past the gate when its entire length struck the ground simultaneously. Well, the entire length except for the portion spanning the moat. With the entire mass striking the ground at once the shock and thunderous impact was felt through out the Praetorian's Camp, the Field of Mars, and even the wine in the Emperor's goblet over a mile away experienced a faint ripple.  
  
After impacting the ground the obelisk slid forward a further fifteen feet before the inertia was finally used up ripping apart the deeply-set flagstones of the inner courtyard of the fortress. In its final resting spot the lower end of obelisk extended three feet beyond the outer edge of the moat forming a rough temporary bridge of its own.  
  
As the massive stone flew through the air towards the gate, Clark paused a moment to watch what he had wrought and also to give his body a moment to recover from his massive exertion. In the couple of seconds it took for the obelisk to fly to the gate, crash to a halt, and the resulting dust cloud to start to settle, Clark felt mostly recovered and physically ready for the challenging task ahead. Therefore he quickly accelerated to his top speed, raced across the field and disappeared into the fort by crossing his newly created, temporary bridge.  
  
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Lex found leaning back against the front of the wooden building was not at this moment sufficient to support weight on his wobbly knees. He slowly slid down the wall until his butt was touching the hard stone pavement and his chin was resting on his up stretched knees. He wrapped his arms around his legs and rocked back and forth as he tried to absorb what he had just seen.  
  
What the fuck was Clark? After this afternoon's display with the spear at the chariot races he thought he somehow had the strength of four or five men, which would explain his ability to rip open the thin metal roof of the Porsche back on the first day they had met. And which would explain many of the other unexplained things that had occurred around Clark in the preceding year as well. While sitting through the endless banquet with the emperor earlier in the evening Lex had concluded, based on the then available data, that Clark must have been effected by the meteor rocks growing up in the same way as all the meteor freaks, albeit with a more benign and beneficial result.  
  
But now, there was all of this staggering new data. Impervious to arrows, and remembering a comment Chloe had made right after beginning her little Sphinx story back at Narbo, probably impervious to bullets, too. Able to move so fast he was effectively invisible. Able to lift and toss that great Obelisk which must weigh hundreds of thousands of pounds. And from his behavior back in the hallway in the emperor's palace just before they found the dead slave girls' bodies he must be able to see through solid rock, too. However having personal experience with meteor freaks who could walk through walls, being able to see through walls was somehow the easiest to accept.  
  
Somehow all this new data didn't seem a good fit into the original assumption of Clark as just another meteor freak. So what did that leave? Lex's mind went in circles trying to find a solution and keep coming back to how easily Clark fit into the personae of Ares, the Greek God of War. Was Clark really a god, if not of the Greek variety, then of some other? Certainly he had to be more than just a gifted man. And Lex suddenly remembered that Clark made no secret of being adopted. Adopted at age three, as Lex had it from many sources Clark had grown up in Smallville. Therefore Clark couldn't be some ancient God stranded in modern day Kansas like some variation of story Clark had been espousing about Ares being stranded in Hades for centuries. No, Clark's Greek God cover story couldn't be a simple twist from the autobiographical.  
  
---------------------  
  
While Lex was sitting trying to come up with an explanation for what Clark was, the subject of his thoughts was busy inside the fort. As soon as Clark reached the inner end of the fallen obelisk, he paused for a fraction of a second to survey the terrain and determine the most efficient plan of action. Straight ahead of him stretched a broad central avenue running all the way to the far wall where a matching gate stood to allow easy access to the outside from that end of the fort as well. Back in the eighth grade Clark had been all enamored with knights and jousts and medieval castles. He had even done an extra credit history project on the design of the Knight's Templar castle in Jerusalem during the second century of the crusades. From his research on castle designs he knew you never ran a major boulevard from one side of the fort to the other. There should have been a maze inside the main gate to slow any invaders who breached the main entrance. And where was the secondary line of defense and the final central citadel with a tight, short perimeter that a much reduced group of survivors would be able to defend? Obviously, the Romans had a lot to learn about fort design, or they never expected a strong hostile army to reach Rome through all the rings of Roman Legions between the frontiers and the capital.  
  
Although these thoughts raced through Clark's mind in a fraction of a second, he still shook his head and berated himself at the time lost which would be better spent searching for the girls. Therefore, Clark quickly raced down the central avenue to the far gate. He had decided the first thing he must do was to block off the other gates. Even with his great speed, it was going to take several minutes to examine every building, every room, every bolt hole and dungeon in this large fortress. He didn't want the quarry to slip out of one of the other gates while he was occupied somewhere else in his search.  
  
As Clark raced to the far gate he passed, near the center of his journey, the other major boulevard which bisected the fort and led to the gates in the remaining two walls. It was considerate of the Romans to make his targets so easy to find.  
  
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Lex had been sitting waiting for several minutes since Clark had disappeared into the fort. There had been a continuous dull rumble coming from the fort from almost the moment Clark had entered. At first Lex had been too lost in his thoughts about what Clark was to notice. Then, deciding Clark would remain a cipher until Clark chose to explain, he let his thoughts drift back to Lana, who lately never seemed to be far from the front of his thoughts anyway. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he tried to guess what the sound coming from the fort meant.  
  
Thinking about it for a few seconds and remembering Clark's comment how it would all be over in five minutes, he decided the sound must be Clark searching for the girls. With his speed and strength the sound must be Clark breaking down every door inside the fort.  
  
After three or four minutes the noise stopped and for at least thirty seconds all was quiet. Then a different sound, a whistling sound, was heard from the sky above. Lex had just looked up, but saw nothing in the dark night sky, when a horrific crash reverberated through the air of the field and even from the ground up through his butt. Suddenly, a decorative column, much smaller than the obelisk but still a substantial eighteen inches in diameter by twenty feet tall, stood half buried out in the center of the field. Then another column came whistling out of the sky, although this one hit at a different angle or hit a hard section of ground, as instead of penetrating like the first, it shattered and sent an explosion of shards all around. Then a third, four, fifth, and sixth column came raining out of the sky, some shattering on impact and others impaling themselves into the ground like the first.  
  
Eventually, Lex was forced to shield his face with his arms to protect it from all of the flying debris. As he huddled down to survive the barrage, Lex tried to imagine what had changed. Only Clark could be throwing these columns as though they weighed nothing at all. And why would he be doing that except to vent some rage and frustration? 'Oh my god,' thought Lex as his fear spiked again. 'Are the girls dead and did Clark just find out?' After finally receiving a demonstration of Clark's true abilities, Lex had allowed himself to relax a little. If Clark could manhandle, godhandle, or whatever, that giant stone obelisk, then nothing inside the fort should have been able to stop him from retrieving the girls. But what if he was too late?  
  
Finally, after what felt like long minutes, but was probably only seconds, the crashing and reverberations stopped and Lex risked looking up. He found Clark had returned to the broken up pedestal where the obelisk once stood and his unbelievable display had begun a mere five minutes earlier.  
  
Then he watched Clark pick up one of the three foot by three foot by three foot granite blocks that had been used to construct the pedestal and hurl it at the great stone outer wall of the fortress. A terrifying sonic boom rolled out across the Field of Mars as Clark was able to achieve supersonic velocities when using a block that weighed only a few thousand pounds compared to the many tons of the obelisk. The block flew faster than the eye could follow from Clark to the wall and then punched straight through as though the wall offered no more resistance than if it were made of cotton candy. After the block had passed through the outer wall it could be heard for several seconds bouncing around inside the fort, ricocheting off buildings like a ball in some giant pinball machine.  
  
When the first block crashed to a halt, Clark picked up a second block and then before hurling it, he roared towards the wall, "TELL VENTA TO RETURN THE GIRLS, OR" and pausing he fired the second block at the fortress wall. "ALL OF ROME SHALL FEEL MY WRATH." Clark launched another stone. "AND IT WILL BE LIKE ROME HAS DESCENDED STRAIGHT INTO HADES." Clark heaved another projectile. "I SPENT 600 YEARS ROTTING IN HADES, BUT THAT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE HELL I WILL CREATE IN ROME!" And another rock was propelled towards the wall.  
  
Clark continued to rant and throw blocks. Lex saw large portions of the wall were beginning to collapse and numerous fires were starting within the walls as the careening blocks knocked over torches and cooking fires. Lex had breathed a sigh of relief when he realized Clark hadn't found the girls' dead bodies. Now it was time to stop Clark's tirade and try to get him focused on a probably less satisfying, but more productive course to finding the girls. Although Lex had to admit to himself he wouldn't mind being able to chuck at least one of those blocks at the wall, too.  
  
Quietly, Lex rose and started walking out to where Clark stood by the ruins of the pedestal. As he approached, Lex steeled himself to keep from covering his ears and forced his arms to remain down by his sides, even though Clark's roaring when he was in his 'God' mode was just as painful as when he had first experienced it while standing by the moat. Pausing about ten feet away, Lex started shouting Clark's name to get his attention.  
  
After about ten times, Clark turned in Lex's direction with an ugly snarl on his face as though he didn't at first recognize him. Clark's nostrils were flaring in a way that would have indicated extreme exertion in anyone else, but with Clark it must be just a sign of frustration and rage. Then Lex noticed Clark's eyes and how the irises had an almost satanic red glow. While Lex stood in front of Clark, almost trapped in his gaze, he noticed how it felt like he was standing in front of a tanning machine set to ultra- high, his face and arms almost starting to burn. Was this another of Clark's strange abilities, Lex wondered as his body began to redden and even blister.  
  
"Clark, it's me. Lex. Snap out of it." And then suddenly it was over. Clark seemed to sag and his eyes faded back to their normal dark blue. After a couple of seconds he raised a hand to rub at his eyes.  
  
"Lex, they weren't there. I searched every square inch of the fort. Twice. They weren't there."  
  
Lex tried to put a positive spin on things. "At least you didn't find their bodies. It merely means Venta is not a fool and knew you would come here. We will just have to work a little harder to find them."  
  
Clark nodded, but his response was a lot less positive. "I am so afraid we will be too late."  
  
"Come on, Clark. Chloe has survived for over 17,000 years. She'll be okay for a few hours with Venta."  
  
Clark looked Lex in the eye. "I know. It's Lana I am worried about. Venta wants to get back at Chloe for some slight in their past and I think he is going to use Lana for leverage."  
  
Lex felt his hard earned Luthor poker face slip for a moment. He knew in his heart he agreed with Clark's assessment, but until the words had been said out loud he hadn't let himself think them. Lana WAS the one in the most danger. And not just from a quick, merciful death. No, now that he had let it slip out the dark secret place in a remote corner of his brain, he quickly started to imagine the tortures Venta would subject Lana to in his mad game with Chloe. But after a mere couple of seconds, Lex had his thoughts back under control. Wallowing in fear wouldn't do Lana any good.  
  
Looking back up into Clark's face, Lex answered with a little of the Luthor steel returning to his voice. "Then we need to start behaving smarter and make better use of our assets here."  
  
Clark looked a little shame-faced acknowledging that his frontal attack may have achieved nothing, but driving Venta deeper to ground. "What assets?"  
  
"Rogerus, Chloe's majordomo back at her estate. From my conversations with him he seems to have informants everywhere in the city. If anyone can find where Venta has taken the girls, it is him."  
  
"He hasn't been able to do anything about locating the Professor."  
  
Lex shrugged. "We don't even know if the Professor is in Rome yet. Even Rogerus can't find what's not there. But we do know Lana and Chloe are out there somewhere. I think we should head back to Chloe's estate, unless you have a better suggestion than tearing down random buildings."  
  
By coincidence, just as Lex finished talking, another hundred foot section of the fort's wall came tumbling down with a roar.  
  
Lex had to smile for a moment. "Clark, once we know where the girls are, I have no problem if you need to tear down half of Rome to get to them."  
  
End of Chapter 29 


	30. Portal Chapter 30

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 30  
  
Lana tried not to hyperventilate. It was not like this was the first time she had been bound and gagged. Hell, it wasn't even the first time this month. Why was it she seemed to attract all of the meteor freaks who had the urge to procreate? Not that meteor freaks or procreation were involved this time, although at the moment she could only wish they were. With meteor freaks it was usually one against the whole gang: Clark, Pete, Chloe, her, and sometimes Lex or Clark's parents, which left the advantage with them.  
  
But this time there was no Pete or Clark's parents. And Chloe was bound beside her. That just left Lex and Clark in a strange, hostile environment to find and save them. Finally learning a little about Clark's 'secret' helped, but this time it wasn't a lone meteor freak they were up against. No, when the dozen men marched in and surrounded them while she and Chloe sat chatting about her future with Lex, she knew this time things were different.  
  
The dozen men had walked in and without a word cut down the two young slave girls. Coldly, like it was an everyday occurrence and, for all she knew, here it was. Oh, she had seen a few dead bodies in the past year and then there had been that row of crucified men along the road, but she had been talking to these girls only minutes earlier and now they were DEAD.  
  
Afterwards, when the men pulled out the gags and the ropes to bind them, Chloe told her not to resist. Apparently, Chloe felt twelve men armed with swords were too long of odds for them to try anything. Lana had to wonder if Chloe would have acquiesced so quietly if she had been alone. With her ability to instantly heal, the only reason Chloe would have backed down so quickly was to protect her and hope for better odds in the future. Lana hoped Chloe had made the right decision, because the situation seemed to be getting steadily worse.  
  
They had been quickly marched out of the imperial palace and forced into waiting enclosed sedan chairs, chairs with carefully drawn blinds preventing them from determining their destination. The journey would have been a lot easier if she and Chloe had at least been together, even if they hadn't been able to talk. But, no, they had been forced into separate chairs and Lana had been left alone with her imagination.  
  
She tried to imagine why they had been taken and what would happen to them. But her thoughts keep coming back to her biggest fear, what if she never saw Lex again? Why, when she was so often in danger back in Smallville, had she so rarely worried about Whitney, yet here, now, thoughts of losing Lex were tearing her apart inside? Was this what true love felt like?  
  
The ride lasted about fifteen minutes. Lana tried to keep her fears under control, but a few tears got away. Unfortunately, the cosmetics available didn't have the almost magical waterproof properties of the modern era. When the door of the sedan chair opened and she was lifted out, several dark streaks extended down her face from the corners of her eyes.  
  
However thoughts of her makeup were quickly banished when the destination became obvious. The chairs had been carried directly into the building and down several flights of stairs. When her eyes adjusted to the low torch light, she saw they had been taken to a dark, gloomy, despair-inducing dungeon. In the distance the screams of other people being tortured could clearly be heard. As their gags were being removed, Lana knew the gags no longer mattered; any screams here would be expected and ignored.  
  
With the gags removed, next came the bonds. Although this was less pleasant as the ropes were merely exchanged for iron chains attached to a wall. Short chains attached very high, leaving their arms extended above their heads.  
  
It wasn't until they were securely bound that most of the men involved with their abduction trooped out of the room. Lana realized whoever had arranged their kidnapping wasn't taking any chances and must be aware of Chloe's story about being the God, Aphrodite. It was also apparent all of the men involved so far were just underlings.  
  
As Lana stared out with horrified fascination at the contents of the room, Chloe finally spoke up in English. "Lana, are you okay?"  
  
Lana heard the words, but she couldn't pull her attention away from the forge in opposite corner filled with torturer's implements just starting to glow an incandescent orange. Implements you saw in horror movies. Implements only ever waved around on-screen in a threatening manner, but always used off-screen. But here, now, if they were used, it would be real and not some movie special effect.  
  
Chloe called out again, "Lana Lang, look at me right now!"  
  
Lana's gaze jerked away from the torturer's equipment and turned to Chloe. Chloe could read the fear in her face and was hard pressed to come up with an appropriate, reassuring response. She couldn't just say, 'Don't worry, I have been through much tighter spots before.' While certainly true, it was only through her special 'gifts' that she had survived many of those incidents. And she had lost friends and loved ones on several of those occasions. Still, this time Clark was out there somewhere. It was just necessary for them to survive long enough to give him time to find them. Chloe wished they hadn't been tied up like this so she could at least hold Lana's hand.  
  
"Lana, I am sure Lex and Clark know we are gone by now and they will be looking for us. We just need to hang in there until they find us."  
  
"Even if they can find us, what can just the two of them do against all of these troops?"  
  
Chloe thought back to how Clark had disarmed the thirty men on horseback in the meadow outside of Narbo in a matter of seconds and again all of Venta's troops in the Forum this very morning. And his story about stacking the pickup trucks way back at homecoming. She knew once Clark discovered where they were, nothing she had seen here would stop him. She had intended to let Clark fill in Lana about his story, but she decided she better tell Lana a little more now to calm her. "Lana, Clark is a lot stronger than he let on with his little display throwing the spear back at the Circus Maximus. You know how we have been playing at being Gods? Well, for Clark it might as well be true. Once he knows where we are, he can take out everyone we have encountered in just a few seconds. Just a few seconds. We just need to keep it together until then."  
  
Chloe could see the fear in Lana's eyes drop a little. She was about to continue, to keep Lana focused on her voice rather than their surroundings, when she was interrupted by loud, slow clapping.  
  
Following the sound, Chloe looked off to her left. An alcove opened up in the wall on that side, probably leading to another entrance to this room. After a couple more loud claps Patricus Gasparus Venta stepped through the doorway. Although 'stooped through the doorway' would be more accurate as that particular entrance was not designed for someone who stood six foot six.  
  
Venta walked up to where Chloe hung chained to the wall, not stopping until he stood three feet in front of her, forcing her to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes.  
  
"Coelia Doinysia Flavius, we meet again," Began Venta in Latin. Then he switched to English. "Or should I call you Chloe?"  
  
Chloe tried to give a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders, but it was less than completely successful with her hands tied above her head. "If you like, Chloe Sullivan is just as much my real name as Coelia. Which do you prefer, Patricus Gasparus Venta or Sven Torsnes?"  
  
"Touché," said Venta with a mock salute. "I am a little curious how you found out my real name."  
  
Chloe was more than happy to oblige him, the longer they talked, the more time Clark and Lex had to find them. "Oh, I had a little chat with Tony Campinello outside Narbo last week. He was most informative with a sword held to his belly. I learned all kinds of fascinating things about Professor Carey and his dealings with the Mafia. And his little operation here in Rome. Imagine my surprise; all these years I thought he was just Tiberius' court jester, when in reality he had all these delusions of grandeur. But then, that has been the case with most of the time travelers I have encountered, they all think they are so much smarter, being from the future and all, until reality bites them in the ass.  
  
"I will admit to being more surprised when Tony mentioned your connection to the Professor. In all the years I have known you; you have always done such a good job coming across as the typical barbarian jerk." Chloe could see the anger starting to rise in his eyes and knew she needed to change the tenor of her comments if she was going to maximize her stall. "You really should consider a future in the theater. Or maybe a past in the theater. I know this little theater troupe back in 1734 B.C. in that great city, Babylon, which really could have benefited from someone with your natural gifts. They always had a dream of doing this play about the ditch digger and the princess, but could never find the right male lead. But with your obvious theatrical gifts, I am sure you could pull it off. And you know, if you willingly join that troupe, you might even survive knowing me."  
  
A little of the anger disappeared from his eyes and was replaced with a hint of humor. "No, you are the one with the obvious gift for theater. What is it, five or six years I have known you? And I never suspected you were also from the future."  
  
"Oh, no reason for you to suspect, because I wasn't from the future," answered Chloe.  
  
"What game are you playing? I have it on good authority that you are Chloe Sullivan from the future."  
  
"Well, I guess your good authority is less than good. I am Chloe Sullivan from the 21st Century, but Coelia Doinysia Flavius is not. She was a happy little Roman just trying to enjoy life and stay out of trouble."  
  
"If you are trying to convince me you and her are not the same person, it is not going to work. I have seen you and talked to you enough times over the past few years to know you are Coelia."  
  
Chloe shook her head and smiled. "You are not getting it. As they will say up in the 21st century, you need to start thinking outside the box. Okay, yes I am Chloe Sullivan. And yes I am Coelia. Those are just two of my hundreds of names down through history. Would you like a few more? In 569 B.C., I lived in India and my name was Vajrayana Gautama and my son Siddhartha would one day be known as Buddha. In 1504 B.C., I was Pharaoh Hatshepsut, one of only three female rulers during the Golden Age of Egypt. In 4312 B.C., I was C'kalku, high Priestess of Sumer. In 5184 B.C., I was the renowned Mage Muarisah in Ur. In 7478 B.C., I was the Supreme Ruler Sliviuh of Atlantis. In 10304 B.C., I was the Goddess Fah of the Empire of Lemuria. Oh, and of course we mustn't forget Aphrodite of Greece."  
  
As usual, Lana was enchanted to learn more about Chloe's past. This was the most she had ever said about the times in her life when she had been in positions of absolute power. Lana momentarily forgot their peril and jumped into the conversation.  
  
"So, Chloe, was it while you were the Goddess Fah that your face was carved on the Sphinx?"  
  
Chloe turned her head towards Lana and nodded vigorously. "Yeah. God, I had some good times as Fah. You know, I'm thinking after we find the Professor and gain control of the time machine, we should do a little side trip to Lemuria before returning to Smallville. It would be a great place for a vacation as it is much more luxurious than this Roman era and I could show you how the Sphinx looked before 10,000 years of abuse."  
  
"That would be so cool," answered Lana. She got this thoughtful look on her face before continuing. "Ahh, Chloe, have you thought about using the time machine to go back and visit your parents? I mean your real parents, not Gabe, back before the nanobots destroyed that world?"  
  
Surprisingly, Chloe realized, she hadn't thought of using the time machine for that purpose. After 17,000 years her memories of events before she received her nanobot enhancement were mostly long forgotten. And after receiving her 'bots and their gift of perfect memory, the first few months were so filled with terror, death, and darkness, she tried to never access them. At this point she could barely remember her parent's faces and couldn't even remember the names of her friends from her sixteenth birthday party, which had occurred just three days before that world came crashing down. Suddenly, she felt this incredibly pang in her heart to go back and see the long forgotten world of her birth. But could she go back for a visit without trying to prevent its destruction? And if she did go back and prevent its destruction, what would happen to this whole future? Would everyone cease to exist? She would definitely have to do some research into time paradox theory and perform some smaller, practical experiments before attempting anything on such a grand scale.  
  
As Chloe was about to respond to Lana's question, Venta interrupted and tried to regain control of the situation. "What the fuck are you talking about? Nanobots destroying the world? Gods and rulers down through time?"  
  
Lana looked at the confused expression on Venta's face and remembered times when she felt the same way. She wasn't sure that enlightening him was prudent, but the name of the game at the moment was 'stall for time'. Once Lex and Clark got here, they could then decide how to proceed.  
  
"Sven, I am from the 21st Century like you, so perhaps it would be easier if I explain. Chloe and Clark are among the last survivors of a long forgotten civilization from before the dawn of time. A very high tech civilization. You know the old saying, 'Sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic?' Oh, you must understand that since you have been living in a place were simple things like cigarette lighters or flashlights would be considered magic. Anyway they are from a civilization that was, before it was destroyed, as far advanced over the 21st Century as the 21st Century is over this current Roman era. A civilization so advanced even their bodies have been enhanced with almost god-like abilities.  
  
"So what happens if you effectively live forever and occasionally get bored? You take over and rule the world for a while. You must understand that. I mean from what I have heard, that's why you're here, isn't it? To take over the Roman Empire? So you must understand."  
  
Venta listened to Lana's explanation, but then shook his head. Even if he was in ancient Rome through the use of a time machine, the whole 'Coelia living forever and being from some long lost ancient civilization' story was too much to believe.  
  
"If you are from the 21st Century, how did you end up in the Roman Empire now?" Venta asked, still directing his attention at Lana. She was at least attempting to make sense rather than talking in riddles like Coelia.  
  
Lana frowned at this question. If Venta didn't know the answer, it meant he hadn't been in contact with the Professor. Did it mean the Professor hadn't arrived in Rome yet, or hadn't Rome ever been the Professor's destination? Shit, were they in this whole mess with Venta for nothing?  
  
Lana glanced at Chloe and saw a similar frown on her face also. She must be having the same thought. If the Professor wasn't coming to Rome, where had he gone? However, they could worry about the Professor later, now they needed to focus on getting out of the current situation.  
  
"Chloe, Clark, and I were on a high school field trip to Metropolis University to check out the campus and attend some career orientation classes. While we were having lunch at the student union, we ran into Lex, who invited us on a tour of some physic projects LuthorCorp was sponsoring."  
  
"Are you saying the 'Lex' with you is Lex Luthor?" asked Venta.  
  
Lana gave a small nod. "Yeah, Lex is a good friend of Clark's. Well, ours. Lex is my business partner in a coffee shop back in Smallville."  
  
"Oh, I think he is more than just a good 'friend' of some of us present," said Chloe.  
  
Lana felt herself starting to blush a little. Even though Venta was holding them hostage, he was still from their time and this felt like the first time she was admitting in public to her relationship with Lex.  
  
"Okay, so Lex is my boyfriend. Anyway, after the three of us did a tour of the physics building we returned to the lab where Lex was meeting with Professor Carey. When we got there the two of them were in the middle of a shouting match. Well, the Professor was shouting while Lex was being mostly Lex with the cold, intense stare and just a slightly raised voice to be heard over the Professor's ranting.  
  
"Things got a little incoherent after that, but when it was all over the Professor had pulled me through the Portal and then left me tied and bound in those secret rooms behind the little Greek temple in the canyon near Tolosa. Lex, Clark, and Chloe followed us through the portal to rescue me. So here we are. And as long as we were here, Chloe volunteered to give us a little tour of Rome before we head back home to Smallville.  
  
"Of course, we didn't expect to be kidnapped along the way. Would you care to explain exactly why you grabbed us?"  
  
Chloe, who was still mainly thinking about using the time machine to visit her parents, forced her attention back to the situation at hand and expanded on Lana's question. "Also, how did you find out we are from the future? You didn't seem to know it this morning when you and your troops confronted us in the forum."  
  
Venta was still grappling with how he had seemed to have lost control of the situation. Here he was with two young girls chained to the wall, completely within his power. Every other time he had been a similar situation, the prisoners would be groveling in fear, begging for mercy. But these two were going on about gods, people living forever, worlds being destroyed, dating Lex Luthor, and asking him questions as if they were equals. Venta had always been a man of action. Sports, fighting, killing, those were the things he was good at, not these verbal games.  
  
Trying to regain control, he growled out in his most menacing tone. "Aren't you afraid? I can kill you at my slightest whim."  
  
Lana looked at him. "Of course, I am afraid. However after the past year I have learned to keep functioning even when I am scared out of my wits. If you think being lost in the cruel, hard Roman Empire is scary, you should try going to high school in Smallville. Would you like to hear about Greg Arkin, a fellow student who became part bug and after kidnapping me, wrapped me in a cocoon so he could mate with me?"  
  
"Or," stuck in Chloe, "How about Sean Kelvin, the football jock? After he fell into Crater Lake, he could only stay warm by sucking all of a person's body heat, like some weird heat vampire. It was very scary when he came after me."  
  
"Oh come on Chloe, Sean wasn't nearly as scary as the cop at the amusement park. Remember? He was the one who wanted to make his reputation by solving the big crime and ended up almost killing both of us?"  
  
"Lana, at least he only tried to shoot you. It was me he buried alive. And I always hate when that happens."  
  
"Okay I will concede that time it was really you who were in the scariest, life threatening peril. I mean he only pointed the gun at me for a few seconds while you were locked in that coffin for hours. Still, absolutely the scariest person we have gone up against in the past year had to have been Tina Greer."  
  
Chloe inclined her head in agreement. "Okay, I agree. Tina was the scariest with her ability to shape-shift into anyone she wanted. Of course I still don't understand why she wanted to be you. I mean, everyone knows blondes have more fun. Actually, I feel somewhat slighted that she didn't want to be me."  
  
"If I had known how you felt, I would have gladly told her and you could have had the fun with her out in the cemetery. I mean at least the time you got buried alive you were alone. When I woke up in the coffin, it was pitch black and I was sharing it with a moldy old rotting skeleton. Talk about scary."  
  
Finally Lana turned back to Venta with a little grimace. "See, our lives have been just one scary moment after another and we haven't even mentioned the encounters with Earl or Sasha or Justin. After a while, you just learn to cope."  
  
Venta just shook his head; these were the most talkative prisoners he had ever encountered. No matter what he said, they headed off on some bizarre tangent. After this morning's run-in at the forum, he had intended to steer clear of Coelia for a while until he had a better understanding of what was going on. But then the old scholar, Cyrus, had shown up at the Praetorian Camp looking for him and he had learned that Coelia and her friends were fellow travelers from the future. It didn't immediately explain how they had accomplished the feats that had transpired this morning, but he immediately knew there must be a scientific explanation. And if a scientific explanation existed, then they weren't gods, just ordinary people who had humiliated him in front of the cream of Roman society. Just as he couldn't let Coelia's original slight of running from his marriage proposal go unpunished, he couldn't let his public humiliation go unpunished, if he wished to retain and expand his position here in Rome.  
  
But now, if the girls were to be believed, there were all kinds of new complexities to be considered. After smacking his fist into the wall between the two girls in frustration, he decided to get Cyrus. Since he had been around these people for almost a week, perhaps he could help shed some light on this situation.  
  
"Cyrus," bellowed Venta. "Get your ass in here!"  
  
From the same entrance Venta had used, Cyrus slowly entered the room. The look on his face made it clear he didn't want to be there.  
  
"Cyrus? My Cyrus?" asked Chloe when she saw who he was.  
  
As he shuffled up to her with his head bowed, she racked her brain to come up with an explanation as to why the old scholar would be here. Certainly, since she had first met him back in Genua he had never once in her presence mentioned knowing Venta.  
  
"Cyrus, what are you doing here?" asked Chloe.  
  
Before Cyrus could respond, Venta brusquely interrupted. "He is working for me now. Cyrus, what the fuck have these women been talking about?"  
  
Cyrus looked at Chloe with an apologetic stare and then said in English with a thickly accented voice. "I am sorry, Chloe. After overhearing a conversation between Lana and Clark during our Latin lesson yesterday, I found out that Venta was another traveler like you. Since it was apparent you were adversaries, I thought Venta would offer a reward in return for learning about you. I never considered he would kidnap you."  
  
"What reward were you looking for that you felt you couldn't get from me? I was paying you very well for your services and would have paid a handsome bonus in the end."  
  
"I want to travel to the future. Ever since the boat ride up the Tiber where you started talking about the future and people being able to live forever, I have thought of little else."  
  
"People don't live forever in the future, you fool," said Venta. "Everyone grows old and dies, just like here. There may be many things that will seem like magic to someone from this time, but there are many, many horrors, too."  
  
"Cyrus, I think you didn't follow the whole conversation." Chloe paused to shake her head before continuing. "Everyone doesn't live forever in our future. We were saying that at the rate at which our science or magic or whatever you want to call it is advancing, living forever should be possible in thirty more years."  
  
Cyrus shrugged. "If I made it to your future, it is possible I would make it the necessary thirty years, I am only 42."  
  
Lana's eyes boggled for a moment. If she had been asked, she would have pegged his age at 62, not 42. People really did age faster in these times. Of course, she thought, it probably came down to bad oral hygiene. At least, many of the people she had met here made the average British citizen, by comparison, look like they had teeth straight from the mouth of a high paid movie star.  
  
"Well, you should have come to me about your wish to go to the future. I always try to take care of the people who are loyal to me. But now that you have thrown your lot in with Venta, I think you are ultimately going to wish you hadn't chosen the losing side."  
  
From what Venta said earlier in his presence, Cyrus knew he was going to execute her. And Chloe was obviously smart enough to know that, too. Yet he had watched her face as she spoke the words and there was no sense of false bravado. No, if he was forced to describe the expression on her face, it was mainly a look of pity, like she really knew Venta and anyone with him would be the real losers and she already regretted his loss. My god, thought Cyrus, did I really chose the wrong side in this situation? He thought back to some of the earlier conversations he had overheard between Chloe and her friends, conversations about her being ancient, as in thousands of years old. If she had survived thousands of years, how difficult was she to kill?  
  
Cyrus' decision to seek out Venta might have been different, if he had waited a few more hours to act. He had left Chloe's estate at almost exactly the same time as Chloe and Clark were putting on their little display in the forum of their god-like abilities. When the rumors of the events were at their most hot and heavy, Cyrus had been caught up in the bureaucracy of the Praetorian Camp trying to arrange an audience with Venta. Therefore he never heard of those events, which would have corroborated the half-understood comments about Chloe's unique abilities.  
  
As Cyrus stood there lost in thought, Venta grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. As Venta's powerful hand felt like it would break his very bones, Cyrus suddenly realized his usefulness and perhaps his life would be at an end when Venta was finished with the girls.  
  
"I will only ask you one last time, what can you tell me about what these girls have been talking about?"  
  
"Not much," stammered Cyrus reverting back to Latin in his shock and dismay. "Mostly I overheard bits and pieces about their lives up in the future, but surely you already know more about those times than I ever will."  
  
"And what about Coelia's story about having lived many lives before?"  
  
"There were some comments about her being, let me think, . . . about her being over 17,000 years old, but I have no evidence to support whether those remarks are true or false."  
  
"Bah," said Venta flinging Cyrus half across the room. "You are of no use to me."  
  
After sliding to a halt in an unused corner of the room, Cyrus rolled over and slowly sat up. When he looked back towards Venta, he was glad to see Venta's full attention had returned to the girls. Cyrus huddled in the corner, quietly waiting for an opportunity to escape the room unnoticed.  
  
But the opportunity was not soon in coming. Venta hadn't even restarted his questioning of the girls when a commotion outside the main entrance to the room drew everyone's attention. For an instant Chloe thought it must be Clark, but then realized it was far too quiet and calm to be him. No, when Clark arrived she knew it would be more like a bomb going off. Or perhaps not, at the other extreme, they might find themselves one second chained to the wall and the next, free and magically transported to safety outside the building. But this didn't seem to be either.  
  
The commotion got nearer and it became apparent the sound was men snapping to attention. Suddenly the men stationed just outside the open entrance to the room also stiffened and then Drusilla, the emperor's sister, swept into the room. Even Chloe with her long experience had to admit to her ability to make the entrance into the dungeon/torture room seem like a regal entrance to a grand ball where Drusilla was the guest of honor.  
  
Everyone in the room bowed in respect and even Cyrus was forced to climb back to his feet. Drusilla ignored the attention with royal indifference and moved straight over to Venta. He swept her into his arms for a slow, languid kiss.  
  
As they broke apart, Drusilla looked over to where Chloe and Lana hung against the wall. "Have you found out the answer yet?" she asked in Latin.  
  
"No, we got a little sidetracked. Things don't seem quite as simple as I expected," answered Venta with a hint of respect in his tone.  
  
Chloe wasn't yet certain of the relationship between these two and how best to use it to her advantage. Perhaps it was best to start with Venta with whom she had a little experience. Speaking in English with her most snide tone, Chloe tested the waters. "Well, Patricus, I see when you couldn't get me; you had to settle for the second string."  
  
Venta glared at her, but didn't immediately respond.  
  
Drusilla looked from Chloe to Venta and back before walking over to Chloe. She reached her hand up as though to caress Chloe's face and then slowly slid her fingers up into her hair. Abruptly, she tightened her grip and slammed Chloe's head back into the wall.  
  
"When my dear, sweet brother, Caligula, returned from the forum this morning all excited about meeting two gods straight from Olympus, I didn't know what to think. He is so prone to delusions and fantasies, the poor dear. I was really surprised when several other, much more reliable sources started describing the same events. Of course, I am not naive like Caligula and his gaggle of so-called advisors believing in old superstitions like the Gods are actually real. So I wasn't surprised when Patricus informed me, just before Caligula and I headed over to the Circus, that you were really more visitors from the future.  
  
"Patricus, here, let me in on his secret six months ago, but other than his uncanny ability, like Antonius Carius, to foretell things before they happen, he has never been able to prove the truth of his story. Now, you show up and could only do the things you have done through the use of," and here she carefully sounded out the English word, "tech-now-low-gee. You will now explain how we can use these methods to help in our efforts to seize control of the empire."  
  
Chloe looked for a moment into Drusilla's disconcertingly mismatched eyes and then glanced over at Venta. Stalling for time to come up with a plan to sow a little dissension in their ranks, Chloe said in Latin so Drusilla could follow along. "A real little firebrand you have hooked up with Sven. You should be real careful or you may find yourself reliving that classic Poul Anderson story."  
  
For about the fourth or fifth time in the past hour Venta found himself wondering what in the hell Coelia was talking about. Her responses seemed barely coherent or totally unrelated to the situation at hand.  
  
This time it was Drusilla who took the bait. "Who is this Poul Anderson?"  
  
"He is a great teller of stories from our era much like Plato was a great storyteller in his day. One of his classic stories, 'The High Crusade' was about time travelers. In that story, men from the future brought a group of warriors from the past up into the future. Now in the future, after centuries without serious challenges, men had lost their courage, honor, and their drive to win. Anyway, after many trials and tribulations, the men from the past ended up as the rulers over the whole world of the future." Not quite the original story which was about an alien space faring empire not men from the future, but 'close enough' thought Chloe, judging Venta wasn't a big fiction reader who might uncover her little twist.  
  
Drusilla was momentarily distracted with the subtle flattery as Chloe's comment played to her vanity. From the time she had spent with Venta and Carius, she had not been overly impressed by these men from the future. Carius did have some skill in the Philosophies, but she found him seriously lacking in some of the most basic practical senses. And Venta was bigger, stronger, and better in bed than anyone she had ever met from her own era, but when it came to the brains department he didn't even seem to be in her own league. It certainly hadn't taken her long to have him twisted around her little finger.  
  
Chloe could see from the light in Drusilla's eyes that her comment had had its intended effect. With a couple of moments to think and triggered by her thoughts of the time paradox involved with saving her original world, Chloe had a suitably complicated game plan ready. Hopefully, this would be one more time where, by pouring the bullshit on so fast and so deep, the opponent would completely lose track of her original goal. Namely, in this instance, to stall for time until the guys found them.  
  
"So, Drusilla, it must be nice to have such a tall, lean body. When I am four months pregnant, it is always much more obvious."  
  
Drusilla looked at Chloe and then glanced over at Venta. "How did you know I am pregnant? It has not yet been announced."  
  
"Hello? From the future, remember? Of course, I know a small detail like that. It is too sad about the child though."  
  
"What about the child?" demanded Drusilla, tightening her grip on Chloe's hair.  
  
"You mean Patricus didn't tell you?" said Chloe with a perfectly feigned look of surprise on her face.  
  
"Tell me what?" demanded Drusilla, although this time it seemed to be addressed more towards Venta than Chloe.  
  
Venta stood there without responding. He seemed to be turning a little pale under the flickering torchlight, although Chloe wasn't yet certain whether it was from anger or fear.  
  
When several more seconds passed without a response from Venta, Drusilla turned her attention back to Chloe. "What happens to my baby?"  
  
"Well," and here Chloe took an educated guess, "With Patricus being the father and all, it seems like he should be the one to tell you."  
  
"No," shouted Drusilla slamming Chloe's head into the wall again as she started to get a more frantic expression on her face. "I am asking you!"  
  
"Okay, okay," said Chloe looking more hurt and scared than she really was. "Four months from now Caligula will find out he is not the father. He has always deeply adored and loved you. The truth will rip away his meager hold on sanity. He goes into a wild, manic rage and personally cuts the fetus from your body."  
  
Chloe gave a small shrug. "As I said, too bad about the baby. But the more I see of you, the less your death seems like a big loss to anyone."  
  
Drusilla had a stunned look on her face. Not many people were told that four months in the future they would be dead by their own brother's hand. For almost a minute she stared blankly into Chloe's face.  
  
Finally, she turned to Venta and said in barely a whisper. "Why didn't you tell me?" Then her expression hardened as she took the next logical step. "Was my death part of your plan all along?"  
  
Venta shook his head. "No, no, no. Can't you see? She is trying to mess with our heads. Once we take control of the empire all of that changes. The history where you die doesn't have to happen. That's why I never told you. No reason to upset you over something that isn't going to happen."  
  
Chloe could see Drusilla starting to calm a little, which wasn't to her advantage. She still didn't know how much longer it would take Clark to find them and she needed to keep them talking.  
  
"But it is going to happen," said Chloe calmly. "It has always happened and always will happen. It is THE history."  
  
"No," shouted Venta. "We will change things."  
  
"This may not be the most opportune time, but," and here Chloe straightened and adopted the most formal pose possible with her hands chained above her head and Drusilla still gripping her hair. "Sven Torsnes, you are hereby formally charged with violations of section five, paragraph 37, subparagraph j of the Unified Time Codes of 2338 for use of an unlicensed time device for purposes of changing the past. If found guilty, the minimum penalty is 25 years hard labor at the penal colony on the Jovian moon, Europa, and mandatory behavior modification."  
  
Drusilla, Venta, and even Lana just stared at her. Drusilla was the most lost since she had no idea what Chloe was talking about. Lana was a close second since her Latin wasn't quite good enough to follow the many obscure terms Chloe had used. Venta had followed most of the words, but their meaning was so unexpected and stunning he just stood there for a minute with his mouth gaping open.  
  
A mumbled 'what?' was the only sound that came out of his mouth.  
  
Chloe adopted the expression of a parent explaining something in simple, easy terms for a young child. "Seriously, you didn't think the Professor has the only time device in all of history? As technology advances, more and more methods of time travel will be discovered. As more and more time travel occurred, history kept changing, and usually not for the better. Eventually, in 2338, a major ripple in time nearly caused the end of mankind and as a result all use of time devices in both the present and the past is brought under the jurisdiction of the newly created Temporal Enforcement Bureau. Eventually, TEB agents are permanently stationed at all critical 'transient field nexi'. My base of operations is Smallville, Kansas, circa 1999-2006 A.D., one of the most active time travel locations in the first half of the 21st century. It may appear to be simple coincidence that I happened upon Professor Carey's device, but it is one of my key assignments."  
  
Chloe's long address gave Venta time to regain a little of his composure. "Even if you are who you say you are, you are the one chained to the wall, not me. Make all of the threats you want, they won't make any difference."  
  
Chloe shook her head. "It was not a threat, rather a warning. The penalty for killing a TEB agent is a lot more severe than the penalty for misuse of a time device."  
  
"If I kill you, then who is going to stop me?" asked Venta.  
  
"Oh, my partner Clark will probably get you. If not, the bureau will just loop-back another agent to try again. Most likely, it will be me."  
  
"How can it be you, if I kill you?"  
  
"Certainly, you have heard of cloning? I mean you have already met my clone who was based here for the past six years. With 24th century technology, my mind is continuously being backed up to a central storage location at TEB Headquarters via a miniature implanted time device. Death is usually extremely painful, so I try to avoid it as much as possible, but if it happens, my memories are merely loaded into another body."  
  
Venta started to feel like he was losing touch with reality. What was true anymore? Who was Coelia and what was her real story? He still had no explanation for the things he had seen in the forum or even a wild guess at how they could be accomplished with 21st Century technology. Was Coelia really a survivor from a long lost ancient civilization? Or was she a special agent from the distant future? Or was she something else entirely?  
  
Venta suddenly wished he had never heard of Professor Carey and his Portal device. He longed to return to his simple life as a member of the Norwegian Special Forces Commando Group. Back before the day he came across Professor Carey huddled in a snowdrift in the secret training facility outside Narvik. A day which in the 'uptime' future was only three months ago, but in Venta's personal timeline was now over eight years in the past.  
  
The Professor had been performing the first secret test of the device's newly discovered ability to open a portal without a fixed receiving station. If it worked, it would open a whole new exciting range of applications including, based on some casual comments his most brilliant grad student had made, the possibility of time travel. But before attempting time travel, the Professor had been cautious enough to try traveling across the world first without traveling in time. If something went wrong and he ended up stranded, he could always hop a jet home. It wouldn't be so simple if he was stranded 500 or 1000 years in the past.  
  
It had been a good thing he had tried something simple first. The portal was supposed to open on the outskirts of Bergen, Norway where he hoped to have a surprise lunch with his old friend, Doctor Professor Olav Amundsen. However the portal had actually opened almost five hundred miles further north, in a barren Nordic wasteland. And the return portal which had been automatically scheduled to open two hours later, never materialized within view of the Professor. If Sven Torsnes hadn't been out on a cross-country skiing training exercise and found him, the Professor would have been dead soon after dark.  
  
If Venta knew everything then that he knew now, he might have left the Professor to his fate in that snowdrift. But he hadn't known and had allowed himself to be sucked into the Professor's crazy time travel world. Of course, Venta had to admit, it hadn't been all bad up until the return of Coelia into his life today. He had more power and authority here in ancient Rome then he could ever dream of in modern, socialist Norway.  
  
Perhaps he should have insisted their time travel destination had been northern Europe around the year 1000 A.D., a time when the Vikings had controlled a land area almost the equal of the earlier Roman Empire. Venta had braved the North Sea several times in recreations of classic long ships and had found the adventure invigorating. Vikings. When men were men and the world didn't revolve around all of the court intrigue like here in Rome. But the Professor had insisted more opportunities for plunder existed in Rome. Venta wasn't certain if it was the Professor's real reason, or if he was merely afraid of the cold after the little incident in Norway.  
  
Venta realized his mind was wandering and it was necessary to focus on the situation at hand. Coelia still hadn't explained how the events of this morning had been accomplished. And Drusilla was going to need some serious attention after the revelation of her upcoming death, if the original timeline remained intact.  
  
Having decided talking with Coelia was never going to lead to an answer, Venta turned towards forge to retrieve one of the implements. Perhaps a little torture of Coelia and her friend would convince her to start telling him what he wanted to know. Causing pain had frequently worked well for him in the past.  
  
Before reaching the forge, a man came staggering into the room. A man in the remains of a Praetorian's uniform. A man who looked like he had been run over by a truck. A man, who under several thick layers of dirt and grime, Venta recognized. Centurion Tobias Aloysius Wido, a man whose squad had guard duty at Praetorian Camp tonight. One of Venta's most trusted men, handpicked to handle Ares, or Clark as Venta now also knew him.  
  
"Tobias. What happened?"  
  
"That man or god or whatever, Ares showed up." answered Wido has he staggered over to a nearby table. Slumping onto the bench, he shakily reached for a wine jug.  
  
Venta felt his concern growing. Wido was the most calm, level-headed man in his command. If he was this shaken by his encounter, what could have happened?  
  
"Did you take care of him as I instructed?"  
  
Wido slowly shook his head and looked into Venta's eyes. "No, he took care of us."  
  
"What do you mean us?"  
  
"I mean us, the Praetorians. The entire camp is on fire and in ruins. Most of the south wall is destroyed."  
  
Venta noticed the remaining five guards in the room were starting to share uneasy glances. He had to be careful or he would have a panic on his hands. Speaking quietly, calmly, he said. "Start at the beginning. What exactly happened?"  
  
Wido seemed to pull himself together a little. After another pull on the wine jug, he began.  
  
"Ares showed up at the South Gate about 45 minutes ago, just like you predicted. As you instructed, I had 30 archers standing by. Ares was bellowing for us to open the gate and return the girls to him." Here Wido paused to look at Chloe and Lana chained to the wall. "All thirty archers fired on him simultaneously at point blank range. And nothing. The arrows just bounced off of him. All it seemed to do was to enrage him further. He gave us an ultimatum to open the door in one minute before stalking off into the relative darkness of the Field of Mars."  
  
Wido paused for a few seconds before continuing. "Nothing happened for several minutes when suddenly there was a mighty crashing sound out on the field. The Old Soldier's Memorial Obelisk, which has stood in that field as long as I can remember, was tipping towards the ground. It was difficult to see in the dark, but it looked like its pedestal had collapsed. I was standing on the wall watching the obelisk when it suddenly stopped just short of the ground. Stopped falling and started turning until it was pointed at the gate. It wasn't until it turned that I could see him, Ares, standing there holding it aloft. That great massive pylon and one man had it hoisted up from the ground."  
  
Venta felt like his knees were suddenly going to buckle. He had walked past that giant granite pillar almost every day for the past eight years. If this man or whatever could lift its incredible weight, he was in an entirely different league than merely tossing Coelia several hundred feet into the air had demonstrated. Softly, in a whisper he never meant to be heard, he said, "Shit."  
  
Wido looked at him with his haunted eyes. "Shit is right. But it gets worse. After Ares had it pointed towards the gate, he tossed it at least 500 feet. When it hit, the reinforced gate just plain exploded. What happened next is hard to describe. I had tried to stay focused on the man while the obelisk was doing its destructive thing. For a couple of seconds after the impact he stood there watching and then he blurred and vanished. That's when bad things started happening within the Camp.  
  
"First of all, the other three gates out of the Camp are now all blocked from the inside. Two or three buildings were destroyed near each gate and the remains piled in front of the gate. We have people working on it, but it will be at least noon before we will have enough of the debris removed to open them.  
  
"Second, every single door in the Camp seems to have been destroyed. I only took time for a quick inspection, but every secret room, compartment, and underground chamber was torn open. And this all happened in a matter of a couple of minutes. A couple of minutes.  
  
"When he didn't find you or the girls, frankly he got a little pissed." At this point Wido put forth a weak grin. "You know the portico on the front of your residence? I am afraid its not there anymore. All sixteen of the columns are now out in the center of the Field of Mars. Some of them are standing there impaled halfway into the ground. Others are shattered into small pieces."  
  
"Is that all?" asked Venta.  
  
"Unfortunately, no, after ripping apart the Camp, Ares returned to the ruins of the Obelisk's pedestal and started hurling blocks at the South Wall. Actually, it was these blocks that did the worst damage to the Camp. He was throwing them so hard they were punching straight through the outer wall and continuing on to do substantial damage inside. The worst was the numerous fires started by overturned torches and cooking fires. Much of the interior was still burning when I left."  
  
Wido paused, straightened, and looked Venta in the eye. "Sir, as he stood there throwing the blocks, Ares was screaming that if the girls weren't returned to him, he would destroy all of Rome. I believe his exact words were 'It will be like Rome has descended straight into Hades'. And from what I saw, he can do it, if he chooses. In all of my years of service with the Legions and with the Praetorians, I have never experienced anything like this night."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Wido concluded. "Sir, I have to strongly recommend you return the girls. I don't want to see Rome destroyed and I am sure you don't either."  
  
Venta nodded slowly. "Thanks for the report, Tobias. Go get some rest, I will take it from here."  
  
Wido slowly climbed to his feet, gave an abbreviated salute, and headed for the door.  
  
Venta watched him slowly limp away before turning back to Drusilla and the girls.  
  
Chloe also found herself staring at the Centurion's retreating form. Even she had been stunned by his description of the events at the Praetorian Camp. She well remembered the giant obelisk which stood on the Field of Mars. Her 'bot network quickly processed the dimensions from her earlier memories, recalled the density of red granite, and provided her with a weight estimate of one hundred twenty one tons plus or minus three tons. Two hundred forty two thousand pounds. My God, what were Clark's limits?  
  
However it wouldn't matter how strong Clark was, thought Chloe, if he didn't get here in time. Focusing back on Venta, Chloe said. "You don't want to piss Clark off. Whether you want to believe in the Greek Gods or not, Clark has most of the same abilities as the legends. If you kill us, Clark will never rest until he finds you, even if he has to spend thousands of years searching through time."  
  
As soon as the words were out of her mouth and she saw the expression on Venta's face, Chloe realized she had said the wrong thing.  
  
"All of history is a pretty big place to hide," responded Venta. "Drusilla, if we learn the secret of Clark's gifts, we can use the time machine to move to some other time and easily take control there. And if we are gone, then Caligula can't kill our unborn child. All of the men who know of this location are loyal to me. I think we have time to question these girls, wrap things up, and be well on our way towards the time machine before Clark finds out."  
  
Drusilla stepped away from Chloe and gave a slow nod of her head. "Yes. Let's get out of here; life in Rome has definitely lost its luster."  
  
Pointing to Chloe, she continued. "But no more idle chit-chat with that one. She is closer to having the true tongue of a serpent than anyone I have ever met."  
  
"You will get no argument from me there," agreed Venta as he reached down into the forge for a glowing implement of torture. "I think a more traditional form of questioning is now appropriate."  
  
Drusilla smiled, showing no signs of squeamishness about inflicting pain and bodily harm.  
  
Chloe knew her abilities to stall were about to run out. She had kept them talking for over an hour and a half, but she was almost out of time and ideas.  
  
"Patricus, would you be interested in a ransom?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"I have thirty two tons of gold stashed within one day's ride of Rome."  
  
Venta shrugged. "It would be way too much bother to move all that gold to the Portal machine. Besides, if I have Clark's abilities, I can easily get gold myself."  
  
Then Venta quickly reached out and forced the orange-hot poker against Chloe's upper arm.  
  
Chloe quickly had to make a decision. Appear to be immune to the pain and allow her body to quickly repair any damage. Or look like it was hurting her. She decided she had to take the second course. If Venta thought his torture was having no effect on her, he might move on to Lana. She needed to keep his attention focused on herself as long as physically possible.  
  
She let part of the pain penetrate to have a realistic response. Perhaps more than she had intended as she felt her scream begin.  
  
Finally, after 4.6 seconds by her internal clock, Venta removed the poker from her arm. Her scream slowly reduced to a quiet sob. The wound was three inches long and almost half an inch deep, all burnt black in the center and blistering around the edges. Her repair 'bots were swarming into action to quickly repair the damage. It took almost more attention than she could afford to spare, limiting their action to internal repairs while leaving the surface appearance of the wound unchanged.  
  
Slowly, with tears running down her face, she looked up into Venta's eyes. "The answer to your question won't do you any good."  
  
"Try me," said Venta.  
  
Saying Clark was an alien wouldn't help in this situation. Particularly saying he was an alien and that she had no idea how his gifts worked. So she had to go with a variation of her own story. A story she could at least explain.  
  
"Clark's gifts are all based on nanotechnology." Chloe paused to grimace and pant for a few seconds. "Do you understand nanotechnology?"  
  
"A little, but perhaps you should clarify." Then Venta swept the still glowing implement close past her face. "But do hurry, you only have 30 seconds."  
  
"Nanotechnology involves building the things you want starting from the atomic level and working your way up. By carefully controlling the location and orientation of each individual atom during the construction process, material strengths several orders of magnitude higher than anything found in nature can be achieved. Early 21st technology can create small quantities of carbon nanotubes with a strength one hundred times that of the best steel. And when Clark's body was created, several hundred years of nanotech expertise existed. Therefore it should come as no surprise that his skin and bones are about 300 times stronger and tougher than steel and at least a million times tougher than normal human skin.  
  
"The technology used in his muscles is different, yet similar. Bottom- line, he is at least 10,000 times as strong as a normal man, as his little demonstration with the obelisk proves. His internal organs have also been enhanced with nanotechnology, although more along the lines of using nanobots to keep the human cells in peak performance rather than wholesale replacement of the organs.  
  
"But, I don't see how this is going to do you any good. It takes a very high tech lab to rebuild a body in this manner, a high tech lab that can only exist in a very advanced civilization. Certainly, nothing like that exists here, or even up in the 21st Century."  
  
Venta appeared to consider this for a few seconds. "Well, that answer doesn't do me any good. I guess you will have to try again." Saying that, he brought the poker down between her upheld arm and the side of her neck until it touched the bunched up folds of her green silk gown on top of her shoulder.  
  
The poker quickly burned through the smoking, stinking cloth until it reached her skin and again proceeded to burn its way into her flesh. Again Chloe was forced almost against her will to scream.  
  
This time it was almost ten seconds before Venta withdrew the agonizing device. As it lifted clear, the smoldering remains of the right shoulder of her gown burned through and the top portion of her gown slipped and fell away, leaving her naked to the waist.  
  
Roughly Venta reached out and palmed one of her exposed breasts.  
  
After a few seconds, Drusilla spoke up. "Quit screwing around and get back to business."  
  
"Well, I thought Chloe might like a last few moments of pleasure with this, as I think it is going to be the next target for attention." Slowly, Venta removed his hand from her breast and used it to lift her chin. "Chloe, are you ready to tell me the truth, now?"  
  
"I have already told you the truth. What benefit would there be for me to be lying?"  
  
At this point Venta didn't really care what the truth was any longer; he was just getting into the torture. It was one of the reasons he had agreed to join the Professor in his little plan for the Roman Empire. Here he could indulge in so many activities he could only dream about in his old life.  
  
But soon he would be forced to start all over in some other era and it was all Chloe and her friends' fault. Yes, he was going to enjoy slowly destroying her before he was forced to depart.  
  
"Perhaps you would be more motivated, if I work on your friend for a while."  
  
This was the moment Chloe had been dreading. She had seen that look in his eyes before, way too many times before, as other men slipped over the edge into madness. Venta was no longer looking for information, just revenge. And Lana was about to be caught in the middle.  
  
Chloe watched as Venta made his way over to the forge for a fresh weapon. Normally, at times like this, she would allow her mind to retreat into her memories and leave control of her body to the 'bots. They could combat the damage just as effectively without her active attention and she could lock herself away, re-experiencing some happy times from her past.  
  
But Lana didn't have that luxury, and as she started to scream, Chloe forced herself to stay in this reality. Soon her blonde head was bowed and the tears running down Chloe's face had nothing to do with her wounds.  
  
Come on, Clark, where are you?  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
Clark nervously paced back and forth the length of magnificent entrance hall to Chloe's estate. It was several hours past dawn and the brilliant sunlight was beautifully illuminating the grand fresco of the naval battle that dominated the room. However Clark couldn't care less as he awaited word saying some source of Rogerus' had located the girls. Unlike Lex who seemed able to stand motionless for minutes at a time with his nose only inches away from the surface of the artwork, Clark couldn't stand still. At least twice an hour since they had returned, he would blur out and do a quick pass through the city hoping to find his own clue as to their location. But he never found anything and was always back in the entrance hall within ten seconds. It wouldn't do for him to be off somewhere else when the vital bit of information reached the estate, because he could feel in his gut that time was going to be critical.  
  
It was difficult to tell time without a watch, particularly at night, but it must have been about 3 AM when Lex and Clark had returned to the estate. With all of the noisy activity on the Field of Mars, the horses they had 'borrowed' from the Imperial messengers had disappeared out into the night and they were forced to make their way on foot. Well, Clark had been on foot. He had such a sense of urgency he merely picked up Lex and set off at a brisk pace. Not true super-speed, but still a pace any Olympic sprinter could only dream of in envy.  
  
Chloe's estate was barely a mile and a half from the Praetorian Camp. Even with his burden and what was for him a leisurely pace, it had taken less than three minutes to reach their destination. When they had arrived, Rogerus was, as usual, awaiting them on the front steps. The noise from the Camp on the bluff must have been sufficient to arouse the household, as even now the spreading fires were clearly visible in the distance. Or perhaps the answer to Rogerus' presence was simply he never slept.  
  
In less than two minutes Lex had filled him in on the situation and Rogerus had disappeared back into the house to set things in motion.  
  
Lex and Clark were left standing in the mostly dark, gloomy, almost foreboding entrance hall with nothing to do until Rogerus turned up a clue. The room had large floor-standing candelabra near both the front entrance and the rear exit into the main portion of the estate. Additionally, a smaller candelabra was burning on the small side table where an assortment of breads, fruits, cheese, wines and a decanter of water were set out.  
  
Clark wandered over to the table and idly picked a few grapes from a bowl. Not because he was feeling any hunger, more to give his hands something to do. Lex joined him but for a minute merely stood there staring into the flickering flames of one of the candles.  
  
Finally, Lex turned to Clark. "I know we should be focused on the girls, but at the moment there doesn't seem to be anything we can do in that regard." Lex shook his head the smallest amount as though steeling himself to ask a difficult question. "Clark, I have to know. How can you do those things? I mean this is so far beyond what I was expecting after the little demo at the Circus, I can't even begin to guess how it is possible."  
  
Clark looked at Lex for a moment, really looked at him for the first time since the events outside the Praetorian Camp. Clark stared at his reddened face and the couple of painful looking blisters on his cheeks and wondered what had happened to him, not even realizing Lex had been caught in the first manifestation of his new, soon to be great, gift. Heat vision, his first ability which could directly affect things from a distance without moving his body.  
  
Instead of responding to Lex's question, Clark asked, "My god, what happened to your face?"  
  
Lex reached up and gingerly touched his blistered cheek. "You did. Don't you remember?"  
  
Clark looked back with a growing expression of horror. "I did? I don't understand."  
  
"Right at the end of things, when you were hurling blocks at the outer wall. I walked up to try and get you to stop. When you turned to me your irises were glowing red and it felt like I was standing in front of an incredibly powerful sunlamp. Your eyes returned to normal within ten seconds, but this was the result."  
  
"I am so sorry, Lex. This has never happened before. I felt a burning sensation in my eyes at the time, but I thought it was just the anger and frustration from not finding the girls." Clark remembered how his x-ray vision had first appeared six months earlier. Suddenly, sporadically. Exactly what new power was he developing now? And why now? Why in the middle of this crisis? Was the crisis causing it to appear now? Clark shook his head in frustration and repeated again. "I'm sorry."  
  
"What do you mean, it's never happened before?" asked Lex. He desperately wanted to push Clark for answers, but Clark obviously needed to ease into things at his own pace.  
  
Clark sighed. "Until six months ago, I never had the x-ray vision either. Oh, I have always had the speed and strength to some extent, but not the x- ray vision. It spontaneously started to happen. It was several weeks before I was able to reliably control it. I guess this heat thing must be something similar."  
  
Lex nodded as one of his surmises was confirmed. He thought from Clark's behavior in the hallway back at the imperial palace that Clark must be able to see through walls. "X-ray vision sounds pretty handy."  
  
Clark shrugged. "It has been useful a few times like when I saw the arm inside the vault door at the Smallville Bank."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You remember the meteor rock tattoo boys, who could walk through walls?"  
  
"Sure, Clark, it was that memory which first led me to think you might have the ability to see through walls. But what does that have to do with an arm inside the vault door?"  
  
"Well, at the time I could hardly explain to anyone how I knew it was there, but knowing one of the men involved was missing an arm, made them a lot easier to identify." Clark tried a faint smile. "This new heat thing doesn't seem nearly as useful, unless I want to open an instant tanning salon when we get back home."  
  
Lex snorted. "I think instant burning salon would be much more accurate. 'Come right in. SPF -3000. In 10 seconds we'll give you the same sunburn as 8 hours in the Sahara Desert Sun.' Sounds like you will make a lot of money, Clark."  
  
For several minutes nothing more was said. Finally, Lex spoke up. "You mentioned something about an explanation this afternoon before all of the craziness began. It looks like we have some time now and my understanding things may come in useful later on."  
  
Clark nodded, knowing it was time. "Okay, Lex, but I am afraid you are going to be disappointed."  
  
"How can I be disappointed? I mean the things I saw you do."  
  
"Disappointed, because there won't be any simple, clean 'this neatly explains everything' answers. As far back as I can remember I have wanted a clear explanation, too. But so far I haven't found it."  
  
Lex couldn't understand this hemming and hawing. "Clark just start at the beginning."  
  
"Like everything else strange in Smallville, my story starts with the meteor shower." began Clark.  
  
Lex tried to keep an open mind as he listened to Clark's story, but his brain immediately tried to jump to the conclusion Clark's story would just another meteor freak incident, albeit with more strange consequences than most.  
  
"In the middle of the shower, my spaceship crashed into a cornfield along the road between Smallville and my parent's, well, adopted parent's farm."  
  
"Spaceship? Did you really say spaceship?"  
  
"Yeah, but before you start asking why no one noticed, it is very small, only about eight feet long and four feet wide. And no, I don't have any idea how you could pack a three-year-old child, food, air, fuel, and everything else into a vehicle that small. It has been in my parent's root cellar ever since. Since the day it, we, arrived, my parents have never been able to open it or decipher any of the symbols on the outer surface. Even I haven't been able to open it and you have seen how much force I can exert."  
  
"So, you haven't come right out and said it, but are you telling me you have no idea where you are from?"  
  
Clark nodded. "Yeah, now you can see why I said my answer would be so unsatisfying. Oh, I can tell you a lot about my abilities, though obviously not everything since even I didn't know about the heat thing until tonight. But for the more important questions like 'Where am I from?', 'Why do I have these abilities?', 'Why was I sent alone?', 'Where are my real parents?', 'Was Smallville the ship's real destination or was it just random?' and a million other questions, I don't have an answer. And believe me; I want the answers far more than you do."  
  
Lex could hear the frustration in Clark's voice and knew Clark was telling him the truth. This wasn't some story to avoid telling Lex the whole story. Once he knew of Clark's abilities, there didn't seem much point in not telling the truth.  
  
Lex suddenly understood why Clark had always been so careful to hide the truth in the past. If Lex's father or the government found out, they would put him in a cage and study him like a lab rat to learn his secrets and how to duplicate them.  
  
Well, they would try to put him in a cage, but from what Lex had seen tonight, he couldn't imagine a cage that would hold Clark. At least any cage with bars, thought Lex starting to get a queasy feeling in his stomach. After knowing Clark for a year, the leverage to hold Clark seemed so simple: threaten his parents, or Chloe, or Lana, or even himself. At that moment, Lex vowed to himself to do everything in his power to help Clark protect his secret. And that meant protecting everyone who could be forced to reveal Clark's secret: Lana, Chloe, even Clark's parents. Would the sharing of Clark's secret make things easier between himself and Jonathan Kent?  
  
As much as he saw the necessity of protecting Clark's secret, Lex also wanted to help his friend discover and understand his past. "Clark, you said there are symbols on the exterior of the ship. What have you done to try and decipher them?"  
  
Clark turned and leaned back against the table. "I have tried to do some research on the web, but looking for symbols in an unknown language is very challenging. I mean you can't type the symbols into a search window and review the resulting hits. I have tried the usual keyword strings and Google's new image search tool, but I haven't found anything remotely close. But then if I am the first visitor to reach the earth from this other world, there is no reason I should find anything on the internet."  
  
"Clark, I would like to help when we get home. With LuthorCorp's resources I can already think of several different ways to pursue this. One way would be to follow your current approach of looking for other examples of these symbols, but using people who are more experienced and who can devote their full time to it. Another way, if there are enough samples, is to use the approach of scholars who decipher long lost languages by looking for patterns. Of course, whatever approach we take, we will be extremely careful no one knows the source of symbols besides the four of us. And your parents.  
  
"Speaking of the four of us, has Chloe seen these symbols? She, without a doubt, has been exposed to more languages and alphabets than anyone else on the planet. Hell, probably more than everyone currently alive combined. And with her stories of the computer processing abilities of her nanobot network, she might be your best bet at deciphering them."  
  
Clark hadn't ever thought about trying Chloe's abilities to solve the mystery of the symbols. "I didn't let Chloe in on my secret until we were in the spa back in Tolosa, shortly after she told us about her own unique background. I mentioned the spaceship that day, but we got interrupted and then it never came up again. I hope you are right, maybe with Chloe's help we can find some clues as to who I am and why I have all of these abilities."  
  
Clark suddenly stood up. "Lex, I can't just sit here, not knowing what is happening to the girls. I am going to take a quick swing through the city and see if I can find any clues. Or at least clear my head and burn off a little nervous energy. I'll be back in a few seconds."  
  
Lex had barely started a nod of acknowledgement when Clark blurred and was gone back out into the darkness of the night.  
  
While Clark was gone, Lex tried to make sense of what he had just learned. Clark was an alien. An alien. But not some gray or green unisex-looking creature with an oversized head. No, he looks perfectly human, except for being at least 1000 times stronger than anyone from earth. How was that combination possible? If Clark's race evolved on some world where the gravity was 1000 times that of the earth, what were the odds of them looking human? The logical answer was a number so tiny it was for all practical purposes, zero.  
  
This seemed to lead to several possibilities. One, Clark's abilities were natural, but his appearance had been altered to pass for human. Two, his appearance was natural, but his abilities were artificially enhanced. This led to the question of how his abilities could be artificially enhanced.  
  
Clark had arrived during the meteor shower. Many humans had been affected, from some perspectives you could say enhanced, from their encounters with the meteor rocks. For some this was the result of exposure over a period of years. For others it was the result of one brief, explosive encounter. Many of the abilities which resulted were almost hard to believe and this was after, at most, a 13 year exposure. What if a race was exposed to the meteor rocks continuously for many generations, perhaps hundreds or thousands of years? What if the changes were cumulative and reinforcing? If you extrapolated forward from some of the meteor freaks' abilities, could you eventually arrive at someone like Clark?  
  
Then again, perhaps Clark's arrival was unrelated to the source of the meteor rocks. Oh, the meteor rocks might have hit his ship and diverted its course, but perhaps that was their only involvement. If so, how else to explain Clark's abilities? Unwittingly following the same train of logic Chloe had tried to use on Venta, Lex thought of Chloe's comment on the boat ride up the Tiber. If Chloe's nanobot technology was effectively a first generation prototype, what could a civilization achieve by the tenth, twentieth, or hundredth generation?  
  
So Clark's abilities could be quasi-natural from long environmental exposure to meteor rocks over many generations, or artificial, perhaps the result of some highly advanced technology. That brought the question back to why was Clark on earth. Why was someone with almost god-like abilities here? Was it an accident, or on purpose? And if on purpose, was it for Clark's benefit, mankind's benefit, or someone else's benefit?  
  
The possible permutations from the limited data now at Lex's disposal seemed almost too many to count. Lex was almost glad for the interruption of Clark's return fifteen seconds later. It felt like the method he found useful for complex problems at The Plant might be of benefit here. Let his subconscious think about the problem for a few hours and then write all of his various thoughts and ideas on Post-it notes to allow shuffling into various configurations. Of course, if he had time to work on the problem here, he would have to substitute scraps of parchment for the post-it notes.  
  
The next few hours were spent mostly in silence. At first the silence was occasionally broken by a question from Lex about Clark's abilities or history. As the night wore on and gradually turned into morning, their thoughts turned more and more to the girls. Lex tried to get Clark's spirits up, and maybe even his own, by reminding him of all the times one or both of the girls had been in trouble over the past year and how Clark had always gotten there in time and how he would surely do so again. But as the hours went by their sense of foreboding grew. This time things felt different and most definitely worse.  
  
Rogerus returned at regular intervals, but never had anything new to report. He frequently apologized that he unfortunately had few sources with the Praetorian Guards, if Lex and Clark's suspicions were true about Venta being behind things. Rogerus' contacts outside of Chloe's estate were mainly centered in the commercial and political sectors. The leaders of the Praetorians had always formed a small, tight circle which had been difficult to penetrate.  
  
After waiting hours, which each felt like more than a day, the news they had been awaiting finally arrived, however it came from an unexpected source.  
  
It was nearly nine in the morning when the guards stationed outside of the main entrance shouted for their attention. With his x-ray vision instantly engaged, before Clark had even exited the building, he had already spotted the man approaching up the main boulevard servicing Chloe's estate.  
  
The man was still several hundred yards from where they stood, but he was obviously moving as fast as he could. Although by this point it was hardly faster than a walk. As soon as Clark recognized it was Cyrus, he dashed out from the covered portico and gingerly carried him back up to the entrance where Lex stood.  
  
As Clark eased him back onto his feet, Cyrus labored to catch his breathe.  
  
As soon as he could speak, Cyrus began to gasp out, "I'm . . . sorry. . . . . it is . . . all . . . my . . ahh . . fault."  
  
Realizing he was rambling, Lex grabbed his shoulders and gave him a quick, brisk shake.  
  
"Get to the point," said Lex, his voice almost a growl.  
  
"Your . . . friends. Venta . . . has them. . . . Oh, it is . . all . . my fault."  
  
"Where are they?" demanded Clark, his voice creeping dangerously close to its 'Ares, the God' mode. "Are they hurt?"  
  
Cyrus' breathing was starting to come under control, but, alarmingly for Clark and Lex, tears were starting to stream down his face. "By the time I got clear, clear of the room where they were being tortured, they were both very, very seriously injured."  
  
Lex's heart froze at these words. Chloe might be giving the appearance of being hurt, but for Lana it must be real. Then Cyrus continued and it became unimaginable worse.  
  
"Venta has them at the Statilius Taurus Stadium. Their execution is the first event in today's games. I fear it is already too late."  
  
Clark knew the stadium was to the south of the Palatine Hill, a little over three miles from where they now stood. As soon as the words were out of Cyrus' mouth, Clark's body seemed to shift into speed mode of its own volition. From his perspective, one second Cyrus was talking and the next he and all of the others were frozen in time.  
  
Clark instantly grabbed Lex up in his arms and headed towards the stadium at his maximum possible speed. He knew bringing Lex was going to cost several extra milliseconds, but Lex deserved to be there, regardless of the outcome.  
  
As Clark dodged around all the pedestrians frozen in time, he kept repeating over and over in his mind, 'It's not too late; I always make it in time. It's not too late; I always make it in time. It's not too late; I always make it in time. Please, let me be in time.'  
  
The stunt with obelisk may have pushed his body up to a new higher level, or his extreme fear had his adrenaline way up, or perhaps it was some combination, but Clark ran like he had never run before. His old personal best of 14 seconds for the five miles from the farm to Smallville High was being broken today. No, not broken, utterly smashed into little pieces. From the time he started to move until he raced out onto the floor of the stadium, he had covered the three miles in exactly eighty six milliseconds.  
  
As he raced across the stadium, he saw the thrown spear three inches from Lana's body. He could still reach the spear in time, but it didn't matter. Its three predecessors had already found their mark, two through the chest and one in abdomen. Lana sagged from the post, already dead.  
  
Chloe was roped to the next column barely five feet away. At least five spears protruded from her equally lifeless body.  
  
Clark's mad dash ground to a final halt barely ten feet in front of their bodies. As time sped back up until the roar of the crowd could be heard, Clark unceremoniously dropped Lex, his presence almost completely forgotten.  
  
For a second Clark stood there numbly looking at the bodies, when suddenly his legs began to tremble. His mighty, powerful legs which mere hours earlier had easily hoisted that great, massive column, now didn't have the strength to even support his own weight.  
  
As he slipped to his knees, the reality began to sink in. He had been too late, the girls were already dead. As he knelt there his rage and anger began to grow and grow. They were dead. Dead. DEAD.  
  
Suddenly, he felt burning once more in his eyes, but this was nothing like what he had felt back on the Field of Mars. That had felt like little more than standing in the shower with his face right up against the nozzle and the water turned fully to hot. However this time it started at a level that felt like a blowtorch was aimed straight into his eyes and then it rapidly began to get even worse. In less than second it felt like his eye sockets were filled with molten lava and he would do anything, everything, to release the pressure.  
  
A tiny corner of his brain was still barely functioning. It told him he needed to get away from the girls or he would incinerate their bodies to ashes. The thought he might cremate the bodies of the two girls he had loved, drove the anger and pain to an even higher level. Stumbling to his feet, he turned to the far side of the stadium and took a couple of steps before losing his little remaining control.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!" He roared out with unimaginable power. In an instant the shockwave ruptured the eardrums of everyone in front of him. Then the shockwave of his great shout rolled out across the grand city. Every glass object was destroyed as it passed. Even a few nearby, poorly constructed buildings collapsed before it was gone. Moving at the speed of sound it took fifteen seconds to cover the distance to Chloe's estate, which Clark had just accomplished in eighty six milliseconds. When it arrived, it still packed sufficient punch to shatter into a thousand pieces the large stained glass windows lining the solarium.  
  
His mighty shout had done nothing to relieve the ever increasing pain in his eyes. Finally, with another uncontrollable bellow, his eyes let loose. The heat, the fire, the anger, it all roared out in an unstoppable flow.  
  
The first thing it touched was the floor of the arena near the far north wall. Instantly, a three foot wide strip of sand turned into molten glass. As his gaze tracked across the floor, the stream of glass followed. Then his focus veered up onto the ten foot granite wall separating the floor from the stands. Without the infinite heat sink that the ground had provided, his heat vision immediately buried straight through the four foot thick granite blocks. Like the giant lasers in an old sci-fi movie, his heat vision seemed to punch straight through everything they touched.  
  
For another second his gaze swept along the barrier wall. Fifteen feet from where it had first contacted the wall, it passed over the heavy iron gate barring off the animal pens. In an instant the iron bars where vaporized and the day's assortment of beasts for the games were suddenly free to enter the arena. A few lions were there as traditionally expected, but the majority of beasts were brown bears from the Teutoburg Forest in distant Germania. One hundred forty seven in all, imported for today's games in honor of the 25th anniversary of Augustus' great hunt after his magnificent victory over the Germanic tribes. One hundred forty seven bears free to roam the arena as soon as the heat of the entrance had a chance to cool.  
  
And still Clark's heat vision poured forth with no sign of abating. As his uncontrolled gaze shifted up into the stands, large sections of the wooden structure burst into flames.  
  
While Clark continued off on his path of incredible destruction, Lex slowly came to his senses. One second he had been listening to Cyrus make his fearsome pronouncement and a fraction of a second later he found himself sprawled on the stadium floor. Blinking his eyes to clear the dry burning sensation, Lex slowly sat up. This early in the day the stadium, which could hold over 20,000 people, was still less than half full. But the shock of going from the quiet of Chloe's estate to the instant roaring of the crowd was almost overwhelming.  
  
Slowly, Lex got his bearings and realized he had just experienced some of Clark's abilities. Then the shock of Cyrus' words struck home and he quickly looked around. Almost directly behind him was where he found the girls, their bodies strapped to posts, numerous spears projecting from their bodies.  
  
"Lana, Lana, Lana," he whispered. All he could think about was never having the chance to say good-bye. She had just left the imperial banquet for supposedly a few minutes, and now she was dead.  
  
"No, no, no," he whispered as he slowly crawled to his knees. Still staring at the bodies, some small portion of his mind noticed that somewhere between last night and this morning the girls' silk gowns had been replaced with short gray slave tunics, tunics that were now soaked through with blood all down the front. Once his gaze moved passed the blood, he noticed the damage to Lana's body. The burns, the bruises, all over her exposed arms and legs. "No, no, no," he said again in a louder tone as he began to comprehend she hadn't just been quickly executed, but tortured for a long time first.  
  
And a darkness began to creep into Lex's heart as he continued to gaze upon her body, the body he had learned to love during their time together here in this fucking Roman Empire. The body, the mind, and the spirit that had finally started to heal some of the wounds he had been carrying with him ever since the death of his mother. And now she was gone.  
  
For several more seconds he stared up into her face. Lost in his memories, so oblivious to his surroundings, he never saw the spear that slammed into his left shoulder. The spear that drove him back down onto his back.  
  
Numbly, Lex looked at his shoulder, at the blood welling up out of the wound. The wound was serious, but not immediately fatal. Well, not fatal back home, if he got promptly to a hospital. But here, now, it might mean the end.  
  
Calmly, Lex turned his head and looked towards Clark. Clark, who might be the only one of them who would survive this day, looked at this moment to be totally out of control, lost in his torments. The heat thing that had briefly controlled him back at the Praetorian Camp was now completely out of control. The intensity and power of the effect was so great, Lex could follow Clark's gaze by merely watching the intervening air shimmer and roil. Suddenly, Lex was afraid Clark might physically survive this day, but would his mind be intact, if he found the rest of them all gone?  
  
But Lex's concern for Clark faded and once more he turned his gaze towards the girls.  
  
"Lana," he whispered, as his eyes started to tear up from his loss and pain.  
  
"Lana."  
  
To be continued. 


	31. Portal Chapter 31

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 31  
  
Lex stared up at Lana's body. Her ebony hair glistened in the early morning light as it hung, thankfully, hiding much of her face. Lex wanted to remember her as he had known her in life: smiling, happy, even serious or sad. He didn't want to remember her as a lifeless body hanging limply from a post in the center of an arena where her execution had been witnessed by, and probably cheered on by, a barbaric Roman crowd. And somehow without seeing her face, it was just barely possible to maintain his fragile grip on his image of her in his mind.  
  
It was hard for Lex to believe that the short time they had had together was over. Only a week had passed since the fateful nighttime ride in the coach from Narbo. They had been thrown together by the strange chain of events that had left them stranded here in the ancient Roman Empire. For a short while they had found happiness and Lex had found some peace from his personal demons, but now it was all lost.  
  
Why couldn't he have discovered their connection earlier? If he had looked into his own heart, back when Clark was mooning over her, perhaps he could have had months with her instead of mere days.  
  
The worst part was he never had a chance to say good-bye or the many other things he meant to say when the time was right. Things like how very much he loved her and how he desperately wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. But now she was gone, and he didn't know how he was going to get through the next minute or hour or day without her.  
  
As he lay there staring up at her, he realized how empty his life suddenly was. Maybe his wound would kill him, he no longer cared.  
  
In some ways it seemed like Lex had been laying there on the ground staring up at Lana for hours. In other ways it felt like only milliseconds when movement in his peripheral vision attracted his attention. Glancing to his right he saw Chloe was slowly raising her head and turning in his direction. Soundlessly, she mouthed the words 'Help me' as a small stream of blood gurgled out of her mouth and dripped off her chin.  
  
Lex stared at her for a moment as he realized he should have remembered with her nanobot enhancements, even five spears through the torso wouldn't kill her instantly. However the shock of seeing the two girls hanging side- by-side from the posts had simply overwhelmed his thinking. Lex at the moment no longer cared much what happened to him, but perhaps he could help her as one last good deed, in a life singularly lacking in good deeds he realized. She might survive until Clark came out of his heat vision induced frenzy, but then she might not, as Lex had no idea if Clark would recover in minutes, hours, or frankly, ever.  
  
If Lex was going to help, the first thing he was going to have to do was remove the spear from his shoulder. Reaching over with his good right hand, he grabbed the wooden shaft as close to his shoulder as possible. After two quick breaths, he gritted his teeth and jerked on the shaft as hard as he could. The pain was beyond anything he had felt before as the spear started to withdraw. It had moved a little over an inch when one of the barbs caught on the backside of Lex's collarbone. He was going to have to push it back in a little and then rotate it a quarter turn before he would be able to pull the head clear. Lex took one more deep breath and then deciding the 'teeth gritting thing' had not been very effective, he went for the gut-wrenching scream instead.  
  
His scream went largely unnoticed among the thousands of other screams from the panicking audience, who were all busy trying to reach the nearest exits to escape both Clark's deadly gaze and the resulting rapidly spreading fires. The scream didn't seem to Lex to be any more beneficial than the previously gritted teeth, but regardless he managed to push the spear back in and give it the necessary turn. Finally the barbs were in the clear and he was able to slowly pull the spear free. He was about to toss the spear away in revulsion from seeing so much of his blood on its last eight inches when he realized he might need its support to get back to his feet. Swinging the butt of the shaft around until it was pressed hard against the ground adjacent to his right hip, Lex used the shaft to lever himself up into a sitting position. For a moment he sat there light-headed, more from the shock of his wound than the actual blood loss. Then pulling his knees up to his chest, he slowly worked his way erected. Fortunately, he didn't feel much worse standing than sitting and, using the spear as a crutch, he slowly turned in Chloe's direction.  
  
Looking at her as he made the six steps necessary to reach her, he saw her head had sagged back down, but her eyes were still open, clear, and watching his approach. As he stepped up beside her, he leaned his spear against the post to free his hands for the terrible task of pulling the spears free from her body. As he reached for the first spear, he saw Chloe raise her head and again try to speak. Leaning close until his left ear was almost touching her lips, he made out the faintest of whispers, "Lex, cut me free first."  
  
Lex nodded his understanding and picked up his spear to use the sharpened head as a knife since his left hand wasn't working well enough to untie the securing knots. He worked as quickly as he could at the rope binding her elbows behind the post. Several times the spear tip slipped and dug deeply into Chloe's arm as he was forced to mostly use just his right hand. However, if she could survive five spears rammed deeply into her chest and abdomen, a few cuts on her arm wouldn't kill her and Lex had a sudden sense of urgency. Perhaps it was fear for his completely exposed back after already having been a recipient of one spear hit. A second time he might not be so lucky, a hit in the body would leave him dead like Lana and of little use to Chloe.  
  
After thirty seconds that felt more like an hour, the ropes holding Chloe's elbows parted, and she slumped to her knees. As Lex knelt down beside her, her hands reached for the first spear which had punched through her left breast and wedged between a couple of ribs. With a surprisingly calm, tranquil expression on her face, Lex watched her pull the spear free with a loud, wet squelching sound. It took him a moment to remember her explaining one time how she could turn off her pain receptors, when required. Still clearly remembering the unbelievable pain he had experienced on removing his own spear, he wished he could selectively turn off his pain receptors, too. And remembering Lana hanging from another post barely five feet away, he wished he could turn off the aching in his heart, also. Not permanently, but at least until he had a better opportunity to mourn her.  
  
With the first spear removed, Chloe's hands move to the second. But before she started on that one she turned her head to Lex. Speaking in a voice that was already a little stronger and clearer, she said. "Lex, get Lana down. If we hurry I think I can still save her."  
  
'Save her?' Thought Lex numbly, as though he didn't understand the word's meaning. 'How can we save her, she is already dead.'  
  
As Lex just sat there, Chloe pulled her nearer hand from the spear and reached out to grab Lex's left ear. Pinching it hard, she said, "Lex, get her down now."  
  
The unexpected pain did the trick and got Lex moving and his brain thinking again. If Chloe thought she could save Lana, maybe it wasn't too late. Who knew what additional abilities she had that she hadn't felt compelled to share? And it was suddenly difficult to doubt her abilities as he watched her calmly pull the second spear from her abdomen and already she looked stronger and more lifelike than ten seconds earlier.  
  
Using the post to which Chloe had been tied for support; Lex pushed himself back to his feet. This time he felt more light-headed than the first time and for a moment his vision even went gray. Looking at his own wound he could see the blood pumping out at a steady pace and how his left side was coated with blood almost to his knee. Knowing he might only have minutes before he passed out from blood loss, he quickly picked up his spear from where it was leaning against the back of the post and turned towards Lana.  
  
When he reached her, there was no reaction like with Chloe. Her head sagged down with her hair obscuring her face. Her body was limp and showed no reaction when he started to saw through the robes restraining her elbows.  
  
This time the ropes seemed much harder to cut. Although he wasn't certain whether it was his weakening condition or his unreasonable fear of cutting her arms like he had done to Chloe. In the end it was close to 45 seconds before the ropes came free. By then Chloe was beside him and helped lower Lana's body until she was stretched out on her back.  
  
Lex collapsed to his knees beside her and ended up cradling her head as Chloe worked to remove the spears. Unlikely Chloe or Lex, Lana gave no response as the spears came free. As Lex watched her body, he suddenly felt the ache in his heart grow. Had all Chloe done was give him some painful false hope? What could she possibly do to save Lana now?  
  
As Chloe removed the final spear she didn't set it aside like the previous spears, but instead, holding it right behind the sharpened head, she angled the shaft down in front of Lex.  
  
"Lex, grab the shaft and give a sharp pull."  
  
Lex looked at her, but Chloe could see his eyes glazing over even as she watched. In a couple of seconds he was going to be out cold as she realized his wound was more severe than she had thought with her attention focused on her own and Lana's injuries.  
  
"LEX," she almost screamed to break his haze. "You must pull on this shaft now if I am going to save Lana."  
  
Lana's name was the hook Lex needed to force his mind back into focus for the necessary few seconds. With a tiny nod, Lex grasped the shaft and gave a modest tug. Fortunately, the sharpened head did the rest, slicing Chloe's palms open to the bone.  
  
Quickly, before her 'bots could start healing the wounds, Chloe slapped one palm hard against the wounds in Lana's stomach and the other against the open wound in Lex's shoulder. Then overriding the safeties built into the 'bot network, she forced the 'bots to invade their bodies and begin a massive replication process. Within fractions of a second the 'bots were multiplying at a geometric rate while simultaneously spreading through out their bodies. Functioning on an almost atomic scale, each 'bot was able to replicate in just over a tenth of a second. Four seconds after Chloe had slapped her bloody palm against each of their bodies, the million 'bots which had past from bloodstream to bloodstream had undergone 32 generations of duplication to reach a body-saturating four quadrillion 'bots. Now as the 'bots had flooded every cell, the serious reconstruction could begin.  
  
Once her 'bot network had been given the general instructions, the rest of the procedure no longer required her conscious control. However, the 'bots were all keyed to her genetic code and if she broke physical contact, all of the 'bots in Lex and Lana's bodies would go dormant. Therefore Chloe was trapped there for the four seconds it took for the 'bots to saturate the bodies and then a further six seconds for the repairs to be completed. Ten seconds for her mind to wander to other topics. While part of her attention was focused on figuring out what had happened to Clark, a large portion of her mind was reliving the events when she first accidentally discovered her healing gift.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
By the modern calendar the year was 7538 B.C., and the location was a rich farming community called Susa, not unlike an ancient version of Smallville. Susa was located in the fertile bottomlands of what had once been, and would someday again be, the mighty Mediterranean Sea. However, this fateful day was in the late years of the last ice age and while water levels were already slowly beginning to increase, the serious refilling of the Mediterranean was still almost a thousand years in the future. For now, what remained of the Mediterranean were two smaller salt-water lakes separated by a land bridge connecting modern-day Tunisia with Sicily and mainland Italy. Susa was located twenty miles inland from the great eastern lake and a mere forty miles from the mighty, lake-front capital city of Atlantis, itself located in the shadows of the Sicilian highlands.  
  
At this instant in time Chloe was going by the name of Sliviuh, which in the local dialect meant 'Golden One'. Even then most residents of the region were of classical Mediterranean appearance and her blonde hair was extremely rare. She was living the simple life of the wife of a prosperous farmer named Kefery Lufwifter. Kefery and she had been happily married for almost sixteen years. Many of their friends frequently commented on her youthful appearance and how she and their eldest daughter, Keviuh, could almost pass as twins. Besides Keviuh, Kefery and Sliviuh had three other children, two boys and a girl.  
  
Thinking back, Chloe remembered how this had been one of the longest, happiest times of her life; one of those periods when she was going through a 'simple' phase. No empire to run, no wars of conquest to direct, no multitude to feed and clothe. This was a time when her life was centered on her family, and their farm, even if it meant her vast, global trading empire was left without her guiding hand and was going slightly to seed.  
  
Not that simple meant a 'Little House on the Prairie' sod hut, no, they lived in a beautiful, large stone and timber home. They had six household staff to attend to their needs and 57 farmhands to attend to the crops and livestock. By the common standards of the era, they were at the modest end of the Landed Gentry.  
  
Chloe had been completely in love with Kefery since the day they had meet seventeen years earlier at the annual feast for the ancient, mythical goddess Pharo, whose name was slowly over the millennia evolving from Fah to Pharaoh. Twenty five hundred years earlier Chloe had been the living god, Fah. Five thousand years later she would briefly be the living god, Pharaoh Hatshepsut, completing the circle. But at the moment she was merely a farmwife, although happier than during either of her reigns as Fah or Pharaoh.  
  
This day had dawned like many another with Chloe coming awake first with her body comfortably draped across Kefery's broad chest. Soon it would be time to wake the children for school and start the other activities of the day, but that could wait a few minutes while she enjoyed the feel of Kefery's still hard, strong body pressed against her. Looking at his quietly sleeping face, she saw the deepening lines around the eyes from years outdoors under the brutal Mediterranean sun. At 34, Kefery was well into middle-age for this era and Chloe was forced to think about the growing discrepancy in their appearances.  
  
She was glad she had made the decision ten years earlier to let Kefery in on her secret. So many times in the past when she had divulged her secret, things had turned out bad. But this time she had found someone who could accept her for herself and mostly ignore her strange gift. However, the comments of acquaintances were becoming more frequent and it was time to start planning for a new future before her family was destroyed by allegations of witchery. She and Kefery had agreed that after Keviuh's marriage in two weeks, they would turn the farm over to them as a wedding gift and soon move on to a new life in a distant city. A city where they could start over as an older widowed man and his young second wife. A new life where they could enjoy another ten or fifteen years of peace, happiness, and above all, love.  
  
But planning that transition could wait another day, as Chloe's secret stashes of gold and gems, scattered all over the world, made any required departure simple and clean. Therefore Chloe felt no regrets about putting things off for another day as she slowly crawled up Kefery's body until her lips were lightly touching his.  
  
"Wake up, sleepy head," she whispered while showering tiny kisses all over his face.  
  
Kefery awoke with a smile, "Good morning to you too, dear." As he came fully awake, his hand slid steadily down her back. "Life doesn't get any better than this."  
  
Chloe let out a happy, little moan. This was her favorite way of starting the day, also.  
  
Five minutes later things were just getting hot and heavy when the shouts and screams penetrated their awareness. With the reactions only experience parents have, they instantly broke apart, had pulled on some loose robes, and were halfway to the door before they were fully cognizant of the cause.  
  
"Get the kids," shout Kefery as he raced down the stairs.  
  
After yelling for Keviuh to go get her sister, Gefiuh, Chloe ran to the twins' room. Kefery Junior and Arvrey were still sleeping in the early morning light. At eleven years old, they were coming to the end of their carefree childhood and would soon start on their journey to young manhood. But at the moment they were just her little boys and she could feel her panic rising as the noises outside grew and the faint odor of smoke reached her sensitive nose. After over seven thousand years she knew she would survive whatever happened today, but like any mother her greatest fear was for her children. Even more than usual since from long, heartbreaking experience she knew none of them would have her gift.  
  
Hustling them out of bed, she caught up with a Keviuh and Gefiuh in the hall. Herding her children down the stairs, she knew they would be safe, if they reached the cellar below the house, the cellar with its unusual passage to an exit in the woods one hundred feet behind the house. When Chloe had insisted on a secret exit, Kefery had laughed and complained about the unnecessary expense, but had finally buckled to her insistence. At the time of the passage's construction, he didn't understand the enormity of her life and how long, painful experience had taught her the importance of an emergency escape route. An escape route might only be necessary once in five hundred years, but when it was needed you would gladly thank the stars, if it saved even a single loved one.  
  
Chloe and her children had just reached the main entry hall at the bottom of the stairs when the front door crashed open and Kefery fell back through with three arrows standing out from his chest. The girls began to scream as Chloe grabbed him under the arms to pull him into the room far enough to shut and bolt the door. However by the time she had him well into the room, it was too late. The first of the raiders were charging through the open doorway.  
  
Raiders. From the pattern of their battle paint she recognized them as one of the clans from the Tunisia highlands, something she had never expected to find in Susa during this lifetime. When Chloe was looking for a place to settle down for a few years, she had only decided on Susa after careful consideration. At a distance of forty miles, it was far enough from the great city to avoid all the disadvantages of city life, but at only two days travel-time, it was near enough for visits several times a year if the urge so arose. Plus, even more importantly, Susa was close enough to be within its protective umbrella. At least until now. The raiders had been venturing nearer over the past five years, but before today, she had never heard of them within fifty miles of here.  
  
The raiders in their green-dyed tunics and matching facial paint were not here to settle, but merely on a quick looting expedition into the rich, lightly defended hinterland of the great city of Atlantis. They were looking for gold, silver, and gems. If a little fun came to them along the way, that would be just an added benefit.  
  
As they charge through the door, thirteen year old Gefiuh was sobbing hysterically as she clutched at her dying father's chest. The first raider through the door ran his heavy bronze sword straight through her slight body until the sword tip has a full five inches into her father's still form.  
  
The twins bravely rushed their sister's attacker, but two unarmed boys were no match for the raider and his two comrades next through the door. Within seconds the boys joined their father and sister upon the blood soaked floor. Normally, Chloe would have been the first to react, but she had been the furthest from the door in her effort to move Kefery. Now she stood there momentarily stunned into inaction having watched most of her family killed before her very eyes. In ten seconds only she and Keviuh were still alive.  
  
As several of the raiders grabbed them and started ripping off their clothes, she almost wished Keviuh had been killed outright, too. Not that death was better than rape, but in this instance she knew death was only being postponed for a few gruesome minutes. Several of the raiders set about collecting the material things of value while the remaining six men of this particular group worked fast to satisfy their animal lust. In fifteen minutes it was over. The raiders bolted to rejoin the remainder of the clan as they moved on to the next farm, or hamlet, or village. As their final act of destruction, they ripped open both Chloe's and Keviuh's guts before, as a final joke, they arranged the bodies in the loving pose of a mother and daughter.  
  
As the raiders exited the home tossing around the room a few brightly burning brands from the banked fire in the hearth, Chloe was forced to watch the light of life fade from her final child's pale green eyes. The death blows for Keviuh and her had come so quickly and her own injury was so severe, she couldn't do anything but lay there as her daughter's life ebbed away. Finally, Chloe started screaming, "No, No, No!" as she hugged her daughter's lifeless body to her, forcing their badly slashed and hacked abdomens together.  
  
Lying there screaming out in her loss and frustration at once again having everything she loved torn away from her, she became aware of their commingling blood. Her blood. Her blood with its magical 'bots that could repair any damage. If only she could force the 'bots into her daughter's body and then make them to work. Then her mind turned inward and she tried every technique she had learned in seven thousand long years to control and modify their action. The way she had learned to slow their apparent rate of healing to a normal human rate. The way she had finally found to override the built-in safeties to allow self-inflicted superficial wounds when it was to her advantage. This time the hidden override function needed to be found in seconds, if she was going to save her daughter.  
  
Then she found it and the lifesaving 'bots poured from her own wounds into her daughter. Quickly multiplying and then repairing, in twelve seconds her daughter opened her eyes and in a quiet, soft voice whispered, "Mommy."  
  
For a few seconds Chloe just rocked slowly, hugging her daughter, the daughter who had been so miraculously returned to her from the dead.  
  
Then Chloe remembered Kefery and the other children strewn on the floor around them. She quickly broke free to work the same life-giving miracle on the others. But it was too late, the others had been gone for over twenty minutes and there was nothing her 'bots could do.  
  
As the fire rapidly spread through the house, she was finally forced to give up her futile efforts. One miracle was all she was going to get this day. Taking her daughter's vibrantly alive hand; she headed out to continue on her unimaginably long odyssey, this time with a remarkable new healing gift to explore.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Once Lex had expended the last of his effort giving the tug on the spear as Chloe had demanded, he slowly slumped back in a growing stupor. He barely noticed when Chloe slapped her bleeding palm against his open wound as the pain had already been receding along with his other external senses as his brain started to shutdown.  
  
For a few more seconds his mental processes continued to dwindle and then Chloe's 'bots began flooding into his brain. Like with Chloe, the 'bots didn't merely infest the brain cells, but also took up position at the synapses where electrical impulses passed from cell to cell. And once they were in position and integrated into Chloe's network, the 'bots began providing Lex's brain with an almost overwhelming stream of data.  
  
As Lex sat there with his consciousness steadily returning, his twenty two years of memories suddenly felt like a feeble candle held up mere inches from the surface of the brilliant, shining star that was Chloe's seventeen thousand years of perfectly preserved, computer stored memories. And then it was suddenly like the candle merged with the star and Lex had access to all of her memories, each one carefully organized and stored with a time- stamp for easy retrieval.  
  
June 26, 4302 B.C. 8:23 A.M. -- In an instant Lex experienced all of the joys and agonies of child birth as he shared in the birth of Chloe's 414th child, a girl named Amida.  
  
December 4, 1127 A.D. 2:38 A.M. -- Chloe was being chased along the battlements of a crusader castle in Acre off the coast of Palestine. To escape her pursuers, she dove over the side falling three hundred feet to her death on the rocks below, but ten seconds later she slid into the water and swam the mile to shore and safety.  
  
February 13, 10151 B.C. 11:56 A.M. -- Chloe was astride a powerful black stallion, a bronze sword in each hand as she led her 46,000 horsemen into the final battle which would place her on the Lemurian throne for the next 327 years.  
  
September 18, 2001 A.D. 7:24 A.M. -- Chloe sat on the bus next to Pete Ross, betting five dollars that Clark Kent would make the bus for a third day in a row.  
  
April 11, 7478 B.C. 3:46 P.M -- Chloe slashed open her palm for the one thousand twenty seventh time that day as another of her loyal troops had the high honor of sharing blood. In the ten seconds they were joined, Chloe interrogated all of the memories of one more of her troops. After ensuring his loyalty she moved on to the next, a process she had been repeating all day for the past eight days.  
  
August 2, 676 B.C. 1:27 P.M. -- Chloe was acting as one of the judges in the archery competition during the 26th Olympic Games. And no, Lex discovered, only the wrestling portion of the ancient Olympics were performed in the nude.  
  
And on, and on it continued, as Lex experienced over the next several seconds, hundreds upon hundreds of moments from Chloe's life. Each memory feeling like he was actually there, experiencing the events as they happened, not a faded, poorly remembered moment as he had always known memories to be.  
  
Finally, after what seemed like many hours, even days, of experiencing Chloe's memories, it felt to Lex like his own memories and personality were slipping away and he was slowly becoming one with Chloe. Her joys were his joys, her agonies were his agonies.  
  
And then suddenly, the healing process was over and Chloe withdrew her hand. As soon as Chloe's contact with his body was broken, all of the 'bots in his body instantly went dormant. Abruptly, Lex was back in his own head and he felt a profound aching for the intensity of Chloe's memories that were now no longer his.  
  
Once more aware of his surroundings Lex marveled at how incredible his body felt. Not only was his wound healed and the shoulder muscles repaired, but his whole body seemed to be almost vibrating with vitality and power. Reaching up to his face, he found even the blisters from his encounter with Clark's heat vision the night before were gone.  
  
"Lex," said Chloe, as she rose to her feet. "Lana should wake up in a couple of seconds. I am going to see if I can help Clark. Hopefully, we should be back in a few minutes."  
  
Lex's mind was overflowing with questions about her past. He had learned more about her in the last few seconds than in the past ten days since she had revealed her secret. But now that he could once more feel life coursing through Lana's body, all of his questions could wait for some quieter time. So he merely nodded to Chloe and returned his attention to brushing Lana's hair away from her face. Now that she wasn't dead, seeing her face suddenly felt urgent.  
  
After no more than ten seconds, Lana's eyes slowly fluttered open. As they focused on his face, she smiled and said, "Lex."  
  
Before he could respond her eyes flicked away and then widened in horror. Quickly, Lana rolled away from Lex and came up to her feet with one of the spears that had so recently caused her death, clutched in her hand. Then with a speed and an accuracy Lex had never expected of her, she drove the spear directly into the vulnerable spot in the throat of the brown bear that had been rapidly approaching.  
  
Even as the bear fell to the ground in its death throes, Lex realized the entire arena was filled with wild bears. Where had they all come from? Had he really been lost to the world for that long between the pain of his wound and the anguish from the loss of Lana and then the rescue of Chloe and the miraculous saving of Lana, that he hadn't even noticed hundreds of bears entering the arena? He started to chastise himself to pay more attention to what was going on around him. It would be pretty ironic to have gone through all he had just been through only to end up mauled by a stupid bear.  
  
After killing that nearest bear Lana turned back to Lex and smiled as she extended her arm to give him a hand up. "Lex, we need to get out of this arena now."  
  
Lex gladly accepted the outstretched hand, happy to see Lana so very alive.  
  
As Lana pulled him to his feet she suddenly tilted her head to one side and with a small frown asked, "Lex, why are you thinking I am Lana?"  
  
Lex was certain he had misunderstood, but at the moment he didn't care as he pulled her into a ferociously tight hug. "Lana, my god, you are alive. I can't believe it. I was certain I had lost you forever and there was some much I wanted to tell you." Lex found himself babbling, something he never let himself do. But at the moment he didn't care. Lana was ALIVE.  
  
But Lana returned his hug in only the most perfunctory manner. As soon as she could, she pulled free from his embrace. Then slowly, with a dawning expression on her face, she pulled a couple of strands of her long back hair up before her eyes. "Shit!"  
  
"Lana, what is it?" Lex asked with a real sense of urgency as he watched more bears approaching.  
  
When she didn't respond, he grabbed her shoulder. "Lana, what's the matter?"  
  
Lana looked briefly into his eyes. "I think we have a big problem." Then she also noticed the bears approaching. Quickly she reached down for a couple more of the spears that had recently been soaked in her own blood. Handing one to Lex, she said. "But it is going to have to wait until we are out of here. Come on."  
  
Then she turned and headed away from the nearest bears. Lex followed close behind her while trying to look in all directions at once. However not all of his attention was focused on the bears, part of it was trying to understand what the big problem was she thought they had. Lex's mind went back to her comment he thought he had misunderstood, 'Lex, why are you thinking I am Lana?' As he turned the phrase over in his mind, he got a cold shiver down his spine. The comment seemed to imply two things: first, that she could somehow read his mind, and second, that she was not really Lana. And suddenly the spear thrust she had used to take out the bear didn't seem like something Lana would do. Oh, she was probably feeling the same rush he was from feeling healthier than at any other moment in his life, but that didn't explain the perfect spear thrust to the vulnerable spot in the bear's throat. No, that spear thrust felt more like something the 'bot enhanced Chloe would do. Shit, what was going on?  
  
As Lex trailed along two steps behind Lana, she abruptly veered off to the left and headed towards a bear apparently lying dead on the ground. Looking closer as they approached, Lex realized there was a man pinned under the body of the bear. A big man. A huge man, extremely tall and muscular.  
  
When Lana stopped beside him, Lex could see the bear had torn up the man's right arm pretty bad before the man had killed it. Somehow before the fight had ended, the dead bear had ended up sprawled across the man's torso and with only one good arm, he couldn't work himself free.  
  
As Lana started to address him, Lex kept his eyes roving for any more approaching bears.  
  
"Tsk, Tsk, Venta. Look at all of the trouble you are in now," said Lana, her Latin surprisingly accent free.  
  
When Venta stopped his struggles against the bear's carcass and looked up at her, she continued, her voice loud and hard to ensure he understood her words through the shock and pain of his injuries.  
  
"I fucking told you I have lived forever and that you shouldn't mess with me. But did you listen? No, you had to go ahead and execute me. Well, you can see the spears didn't kill me, but they sure hurt like hell. Turnabout sounds only fair. Let's see how you like a fucking spear through the chest."  
  
Then Lana lifted her spear above her head and slammed it down into Venta's chest with all of her strength.  
  
Lex looked at what Lana had just done in shock. His Lana could never so viciously kill someone like that. And why the comment about having lived forever? What was going on with her?  
  
Lana left her spear standing in Venta's lifeless chest and stooped to pick up his sword instead.  
  
"Come on, Lex. That finishes it. Let's get out of here." And Lana strode away towards the nearest exit from the arena floor.  
  
Lex quickly caught up and started walking beside her. Keeping one eye on the lookout for marauding bears, he glanced at her and asked, "Chloe?"  
  
When she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, he tried again. "You're Chloe, right?"  
  
After a couple more steps, she slowly nodded. "Yeah, I don't understand it, but somehow I woke up and found myself in her body."  
  
Lex asked the question he had to ask, but was very afraid of the answer. "Were we too late? Is Lana's mind gone forever?"  
  
She shook her head. "I don't know, Lex. Nothing like this has ever happened before. When I have attempted to revive lifeless bodies in the past, either the person had been dead too long and my 'bots couldn't do anything, or the person came back as good as new. Never has anyone come back with my mind in their body."  
  
"Is your 'bot network active?"  
  
"It feels like it," she answered with a shrug. "I mean, all of my memories seem normal. When I touched you, I could instantly bring your 'bots back on-line. Short of taking another spear in the chest, I would have to say yes."  
  
'Bring his 'bots back on-line?' thought Lex. 'Shit, that's why she appeared to read my mind. If the 'bots she used to save my life are still there, but dormant, she can read my mind any time she touches me. What else can she do with just a touch?'  
  
Before Lex could pursue this line of inquiry any further, they reached one of the gated exits out of the arena floor. Five Praetorians stepped through the gate, barring their way.  
  
"Out of my way," commanded Lana, the pitch of her voice changing and sounding more like Chloe. Gesturing to her bloodstained tunic with Venta's sword, she continued. "You can see what little good your spears did when I was tied to that post. Now that I am able to defend myself, I strongly suggest you let us through."  
  
The leader of the squad had a definite quiver in his voice as he stood his ground. "I am under orders to not let you pass."  
  
"Orders from who?" retorted Lana. "Venta? Perhaps you should verify them with him again. You see that spear sticking up over there by the bear? Venta is busy using his chest to keep it upright."  
  
Then putting a serious expression on her face, she continued. "The Praetorians are about to get new leadership. I believe the Emperor will listen to my input, so I suggest you consider your next action carefully."  
  
The squad leader looked from the blood-soaked pair in front of him, both of whom he had seen take spear hits only minutes before but who now looked unhurt, to the spear standing in the body out in the arena, to the massive fires burning out of control at the other end of the stadium, to the bears which would shortly reach their position, and finally back to pair in front of him. With a nod he gestured to the open gate, "I am Centurion Tibor Decius Macrinius. Where can we escort you, my lady?"  
  
Lana took Lex's arm. "We would appreciate an escort to the Flavian estate. Thank you."  
  
As they passed through the gate into the dark corridor beyond, Lex thought, 'Chloe, can you read my mind?'  
  
'Yes, Lex,' was the response he heard in his head. 'When I touch someone my 'bots have colonized, I can bring their 'bots back on-line. I can use them to read their thoughts, or have a two-way conversation like this, or more.'  
  
'More?' asked Lex.  
  
Abruptly, Lex went from walking down a torch lit corridor under a stadium in ancient Rome to sitting behind his desk in his study at his mansion back in Smallville. His study. He was really there. And across the desk from him sat Chloe, wearing her usual eclectic ensemble.  
  
"Lex, I thought you might be more comfortable talking in familiar surroundings."  
  
For a few seconds Lex's eyes wandered around the room. Everything seemed perfectly real, just like he had left it two weeks ago before he had driven to Metropolis for the fateful meeting with the Professor. Wondering if the illusion would be broken if he moved around, he got up from the desk and walked over to the pool table. Picking up a cue, he lined up a shot and sank the fourteen ball in the far corner pocket.  
  
Straightening up, he turned back to Chloe. "This is unbelievable. We really are in my study."  
  
Chloe looked up from the strands of her blonde hair she had been holding in front of her eyes. "When you can control the firing of every synapse in the brain and have sufficient computer processing power to back it up, anything is possible."  
  
"So we are not really here?"  
  
"No, we are still in Rome. We have just exited the stadium and are walking towards my estate. As long as we are touching, I can control your body while your mind is here."  
  
Lex wandered over and poked at the fire burning in the fireplace while he tried to get his thoughts in order. He wasn't too comfortable with the control Chloe could exert over him now that, in her words, her 'bots had 'colonized' his body, but at the moment he had more important things to discuss.  
  
"Chloe, while your nanobots were healing my body, I was accessing your memories, one after another. Hundreds of them. Hell, maybe thousands of them. The longer it lasted, the more it felt like I was losing my own personality and was becoming overwhelmed by yours. As soon as the healing was over and you removed your hand, it was all gone and I was myself, back inside my own head. But the effect was overpowering at the time, and my contact with you couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds. I can see how your memories could have swamped her, if the 'bots didn't shutdown in Lana when you broke contact like they did in me."  
  
Chloe sat there lost in thought for a few seconds before snapping her fingers and saying, "Meteor rocks."  
  
"Meteor rocks?" Lex repeated, not following Chloe's jump in logic.  
  
"Sorry, I have been trying to figure out why the 'bots didn't go dormant in Lana when I broke the connection. The 'bots are keyed to my DNA, so they don't spread through out the entire world like the metal-eating 'bots that destroyed my original civilization. Since the odds of Lana having the exact same DNA as me are at least a trillion to one, particularly since we don't look at all alike, there has to be another reason. I think it must be the meteor rock pendant she wore all of those years. We know the meteor rocks have a lot of unusual properties and somehow her long term exposure is affecting the 'bots normal DNA response."  
  
While Chloe was talking, Lex had walked over to the bar and poured himself a tumbler of his favorite single malt whiskey. Like everything else in the study, the taste was exactly like he remembered it. And after almost two weeks of poor quality, watered down wine, the drink helped him to relax and focus even more than being back in his study.  
  
"Chloe, are Lana's memories still in your head? I mean is there any hope of getting her back?"  
  
Chloe stared off into space for a few seconds. "I don't know. Can you think of something she would know that I don't know?"  
  
Lex tried to think about something he had discussed with Lana that she was likely to have remembered. "Chloe, can you remember how my Mom and I spent the summer when I was nine? That would have been a few months before the meteor shower."  
  
Chloe's face scrunched up as she concentrated hard. "Ahh, President Carter. You were building houses with Jimmy Carter in some city in the southwest!" She said with a look of triumph.  
  
Lex started to grin with relief until he saw the frown cross her face and she started to shake her head.  
  
"Sorry, Lex, all of a sudden I am not certain, if I pulled that memory from Lana's memory, or yours. I think we are going to have to wait until we can talk to Clark since he is the only one of us not corrupted by my 'bots and see if he can come up with some memory only he and Lana would share."  
  
Lex nodded in disappointment. He had hoped for some more definite proof he might be able to get his Lana back.  
  
"In the meantime, what do I call you, since there is already another Chloe?"  
  
Chloe grimaced briefly as though she didn't relish the reminder that she wasn't the real Chloe. "Lex, I have had over a thousand names over my lifetime, I can adjust to whatever you like. So why don't you pick, just please, no stupid hybrid like Chlana."  
  
For a moment Lex had to laugh at the silliness of 'Chlana'. Then he sobered back up and the right answer popped into his head. "Laura. Lana's middle name is Laura."  
  
Chloe nodded. "The same as her mother's first name. I remember helping Lana look for a copy of her mother's valedictorian address. I think Laura is a good choice."  
  
Lex sat back down behind his desk. As his gaze wandered over the surface of his desk, it stopped on the small, high-tech looking, wood and silver box. The box where he kept the octagonal disk Dr. Hamilton had found during the survey of Miller's field. The disk which Lex now knew must be from Clark's ship. Lex reached over and opened the lid of the box. Empty. Even the shape of the interior of the box wasn't quite right. It was good to know Chloe did have some limits.  
  
"What's the matter, Lex?"  
  
Lex looked up at unexpectedly hearing Lana's voice. For a second his heart started pounding faster as he saw Lana instead of Chloe sitting on the other side of the desk.  
  
At the look on his face, she quickly said, with her voice changed to where the pitch and timbre were more unique, somewhere between Lana and Chloe's natural voices, "Sorry. As you said, I am not the real Chloe and I was just getting use to my new body, as it looks like it might be mine for awhile."  
  
When Lex's heart slowed down, he tried her name to see how it would feel. "Sorry, Laura, you startled me. It is going to take a little time to adjust."  
  
"Maybe you could try thinking of me as the twin sister you never knew Lana had."  
  
"Maybe," said Lex playing with the idea of a twin sister.  
  
"Anyway," said Laura. "Before we got sidetracked you were frowning about that box."  
  
"Yeah, I kept a special disk in there. One, Dr. Hamilton, the meteor rock guy, found. After learning about Clark's secret, I think the disk is from his ship."  
  
Laura leaned forward. "You have a piece of the ship? I would love to see it. I recreated this room from my memories of it. I have learned that nobody's memories are perfect, well, except for mine. If I build a virtual location from other people's memories, they are never quite right and therefore never quite real. But if I use mine, then the illusion works better. However for something simple like a disk, your memories should be enough. Think about the disk. Remember all of the details. Picture it slowly spinning in your mind."  
  
Lex did as Laura asked and focused on his memories of the disk. The shape, size, weight, and color were easy. It was remembering the symbols engraved along one edge that was the challenge. After a few seconds he had created the clearest picture of the octagonal disk he could.  
  
"Okay, Lex. Look in the box again."  
  
Lex opened the box. This time the disk was laying there just as he remembered. He picked it up and turned it over in his hand. The look and feel seemed right. Looking up at Laura, he tossed it to her. "Laura, do you recognize these symbols?"  
  
Laura turned the disk over in her hands a couple of times before concentrating on the symbols. After a few seconds, she shook her head. "No, I don't remember seeing anything quite like them before. So you think it is from Clark's ship?"  
  
Lex nodded. "Dr. Hamilton had it tested. In his words, it is 'an alloy unknown to man'. The logical conclusion is that it is from Clark's ship. From what Clark has told me, the ship is covered with a lot of symbols. I was hoping when we get back to Smallville that I, ahh we, could help him decipher them. It would feel good to help Clark discover his origins."  
  
Laura smiled. "I would like to help Clark, too. But it is going to take a ton more examples than this to come up with a viable pattern recognition algorithm."  
  
Laura paused for a second. "Lex, we are almost back to the estate. I think it is time to return to the real world for awhile."  
  
Lex nodded, but took a minute to take a final look around his study. He really loved this room and was going to miss it regardless of how nice Chloe's estate was.  
  
Some of his feelings must have shown on his face. "Lex, we can return here whenever we have some time alone. Or any other place for that matter. If you ever see me zoned out for a couple of seconds, it probably means I am in my version of the Talon having a cup of coffee.  
  
A small smile crossed Lex's face as he pictured her at the Talon. Then for an instant he wasn't sure who he was picturing at the Talon, Chloe or Lana. Chloe, who was obviously deeply in love with Clark, was suddenly inhabiting Lana's body. Were both versions of Chloe now in love with Clark?  
  
Since they had entered the virtual version of Lex's study, Laura had mostly tried to avoid reading Lex's thoughts other than the things he spoke aloud here. But with the look of sorrow that had just crossed his face, she couldn't help herself and took a peek.  
  
As abruptly as he had found himself in his study, so too was Lex's return to his real body and the world of ancient Rome. He immediately recognized they were walking up the long drive to Chloe's estate and were only thirty feet from the main entrance.  
  
Almost as soon as he had his bearings back, Laura tugged on his arm and pulled him to a halt. She pulled him into tight hug and then tilted her head back and pulled him down into a quick tentative kiss. Then a second kiss which was a little deeper and lasted a little longer.  
  
By the end of the kiss, Laura had confirmed her suspicion. It had taken less than thirty seconds for her nipples to become erect and the feeling of heat in her loins to begin to rise.  
  
Pulling back a little, she looked into his eyes. "Lex, I don't know how things will end up between you and me or Clark and me. But I want you to know while my head is sort of messed up, this body still responds to you."  
  
Lex wasn't sure how to answer. He still wanted his Lana back, but Laura might be as close as he would ever get. He tried a tentative smile. "It is going to take some time to adjust to things. I mean an hour ago I thought I had lost you forever. Now you are back, but you are not the same you. It is going to take some time to figure everything out."  
  
Laura smiled. "Lex, I have all the time in the world. Literally."  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Chloe headed off in the direction where she could see Clark still staggering about screaming in agony. She had barely gotten 30 feet before she realized a large number of the bears she had seen earlier milling aimlessly at the far end of the arena were rapidly heading in the direction where she had left Lex and Lana, driven forward by a singeing blast of Clark's heat vision. In only a few seconds the leaders would be to their location. Chloe considered turning back to help them, but finally decided Clark needed her more. She had used her healing abilities enough times before to know the recipient always had an extra rush of strength and energy in the first minutes after the experience. It would have to be enough to see them clear.  
  
Chloe continued forward in a widened arc towards Clark's location, both to stay clear of the bears and to approach Clark from the rear. She still wasn't certain what to make of Clark's situation. After hearing the centurion's story the night before of the destruction Clark had wrought at the Praetorian Camp, it was clear Clark was way, way stronger than she had believed. But this seemed to be something completely different. As she got closer she could see fires were breaking out whenever Clark was looking at wood and when his gaze was on stone or sand they just turned to liquid. Between Clark and the object of his momentary gaze, she could even see the air shimmer from the intense heating.  
  
Obviously, Clark was projecting the heat from his body, probably through his eyes. Thinking about his eyes, she remembered his x-ray vision. She had assumed he was merely detecting the ambient x-rays that existed all around them, but perhaps he had been projecting the x-rays all along and bouncing them off objects the way bats did with sonar. If he had been projecting at an x-ray frequency, perhaps this was similar only down in the infra-red band.  
  
Whatever was the mechanism involved, it seemed likely that seeing her and Lana's apparently dead bodies was the probable trigger. Hopefully, if she got through to him that she was still alive, he would be able to bring himself back under control. The trick was going to be to get close enough without passing through his field of vision. Even Chloe shuddered at the thought of the damage he could do to her body, if sand and stone melted under his gaze. He really was like something from an old Greek myth, she thought. His gaze could be just as deadly as the Gorgon, Medusa.  
  
Slowly, quietly, stealthily, Chloe approached Clark using all of her skills gained from numerous periods spent living among great hunting tribes. Finally, after several minutes of cautious approach she was standing only five feet behind him.  
  
"Clark, its Chloe. I am okay and so is Lana. Relax, everything is okay."  
  
At first Clark gave no sign of hearing her, so she was forced to try again and again until finally she was shouting at him at the top of her lungs. Gradually, it seemed to be making an impression on him, at least the stone and sand was no longer instantly melting.  
  
Slowly, Chloe approached until she could reach her arms around him. At her touch and under her constant stream of soothing words, Clark's heat vision finally dwindled to a halt. She stood there pressed tightly against his back as he slowly reached up and rubbed at his aching eyes.  
  
After a few seconds, Clark haltingly asked, "Are you really alive and okay?"  
  
"Yes, Clark, I am fine and so is Lana. Everything is going to be okay."  
  
When Clark lowered his hands his vision had returned to normal, but what he saw tried to tear out his heart. Most of the wooden seating was engulfed in massive flames. In the light winds much of the smoke was lingering inside of the stadium and the thick reddish haze felt like something out of some war movie. Most of the crowd had long since fled from the stands, but out on the arena floor large shapes were moving through the thick smoke.  
  
"Oh, my god, what have I done," whispered Clark.  
  
Now that his heat vision seemed to be gone, Chloe carefully step around in front of him and gazed up into his eyes.  
  
Clark pulled Chloe into a tight hug and slowly rocked back and forth. She was really alive.  
  
"Clark, it was meant to be. The loss of this mostly wooden stadium to a fire is what caused the great stone Coliseum to be built. I was in Egypt the first time around, but even there the stories of this fire where always a little strange. This fire was always meant to be, the important thing now is, are you okay?"  
  
Finally loosening his grip, Clark stepped back and looked down at Chloe and was almost staggered by the remnants of what she had been through. The lower portion of her face, her chin, and a large portion of her throat were covered with drying blood. The front of her tunic was shredded by large, gaping rents. Through the gaps, the skin looked whole, but it too was covered with drying blood.  
  
Clark finally moved his gaze up into Chloe's green eyes and tried to answer her question. "Yeah, for the moment, but it is going to be dangerous to be around me until I learn to control this heat vision thing. It took several weeks to learn to control my x-ray vision, but during that time the only negative effect was painful, disorienting headaches, which only affected me. However, if this heat vision spontaneously kicks in again, I could burn down the entire city. Or more importantly, hurt you or the others."  
  
"Clark, how often have you experienced the heat vision?"  
  
"Twice, the first time was last night near the end of the battle at the Praetorian Camp and I burned Lex. Just to the point of blisters, but if he had been in my way today, I could have killed him."  
  
"Clark, Lex is fine now, even the blisters are gone. It seems the heat vision is only being activated in times of extreme stress. If we can keep you calm, you should be okay until we can find an appropriate, safe place for you to learn to control this heat vision, the same way you learned to control the X-ray vision."  
  
Clark nodded, trying to focus on staying calm. He knew he would be a lot calmer when he knew for certain Lex and Lana were safe. "You said Lana is okay. How is that possible? I saw her dead."  
  
Chloe was watching still more bears moving around in the smoke and haze. "I left them by the posts where they attempted to execute us and they were both fine. But I am a little concerned about all of these bears. They should have had time to move clear before the bears arrived, but let's go make certain. I will explain along the way." Chloe grabbed Clark's hand and started to head back the way she had come.  
  
Clark didn't move. When Chloe turned back to ask him why, he said, "How about you wait here a minute and let me take care of the bears. I promise to try and stay calm."  
  
Chloe realized it would be better for everyone if the bears were out of the way. Since Clark knew she was safe, the heat vision thing probably wouldn't get out of control again. Finally, Chloe figured letting Clark do something a little constructive after all of his destruction would probably help his morale.  
  
Releasing his hand, Chloe said with a grin, "Okay, Clark. I am sure everyone would appreciate if you rounded them up. I'll just wait here."  
  
Clark grinned back, and then vanished into his speed mode. Chloe shook her head. He appeared to have expended megawatts of power while stuck in his heat vision nightmare, but it didn't seem to have depleted his energy at all. Clark definitely belonged in an Energizer Bunny commercial.  
  
In seconds Clark was back and the crashing masonry Chloe had started to hear a couple seconds earlier was still going on. "That was quick."  
  
Clark shrugged. "I just chucked them back into the holding pen where they had been before I must have vaporized its iron gate. That lower level has a stone ceiling so hopefully it won't collapse due to the fires or the loss of strength from where I torn down the entrance corridor to block them in."  
  
"You got all of them already?"  
  
"I counted one hundred forty five live ones and I got all of those. Two were already dead; one with a spear through its throat over by the posts where you and Lana were tied. I didn't see any sign of Lex or Lana so they must have gotten clear. The other dead bear, well, I think you are going to want to see it for yourself."  
  
Clark grabbed Chloe's hand and started walking in the direction where he had found Venta's body.  
  
As they started walking, Clark asked. "You still haven't explained what happened after I, ahh, after I went berserk."  
  
Chloe gave his hand a quick, reassuring squeeze. "It was Lex that made everything possible, but it was a close thing after he got hit by the spear. If it had taken a couple of more minutes, I don't think I could have saved Lana."  
  
"You mean Lex was hurt, too? I still don't understand. Lana was already dead when Lex and I arrived."  
  
"Clark, I have additional abilities I never mentioned, because I hoped the need for them would never come up. I discovered long ago that I can force my 'bots into another body and as long as I am in physical contact I can control the 'bots and force them to repair the other body the same as they will repair mine. If the body hasn't been dead for more than a couple of minutes, I can usually repair the damage and bring the person back."  
  
Here Chloe paused for a moment. Not just paused in speaking, but even paused in walking, forcing Clark to stop and look at her. "The process of repairing someone's body has a side effect. It is a side effect that is mostly beneficially to me, but I have found it difficult at times not to abuse it."  
  
Clark shook his head. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I don't understand what you're getting at."  
  
"Clark, it involves some of the darkest, most vile times in my past. I don't think I can force myself to explain it more than once. Let's hold off discussing it until we catch up to Lana and Lex, as it directly affects them."  
  
Clark had a hard time imagining Chloe ever having a vile moment in her past, but nodded his agreement to wait. He started moving again and could already make out the bear's hulking form as a light breeze started to remove some of the intervening smoke.  
  
They walked the rest of the way in silence until they were standing over Venta's body. They stared at the spear for several seconds before Chloe spoke.  
  
"I can't figure out what happened. He was obviously trapped by the fallen bear, so why kill him like that? I mean, okay if I caught him in that situation, I would probably do it. He tried to kill me and if I was 'normal', he would have succeeded. And that really pisses me off. So I would fucking do it, but it wasn't me. Lex had never met him, so he wouldn't have any reason. That only leaves Lana. He did torture and kill her, but even then I never pictured her able to do something like this."  
  
Clark stared at the body and couldn't picture Lana doing this either. Lex, maybe, he had a darkness, no not darkness, but a hardness that would let him doing things he thought were necessary. But as Chloe said, he hadn't meet Venta and wouldn't have any reason to do this.  
  
As they stood there trying to understand what had happened, a Praetorian soldier walked up from where he had been waiting at the exit gate. When he got close, he stopped and saluted.  
  
Casting a fearful gaze towards Clark, he said. "Ma'am, I was asked to tell you that Centurion Macrinius and his squad are escorting your friends back to the Flavian estate."  
  
Clark sagged a little in relief. He was starting to get afraid that they had been captured again, although the odds of that seemed to be less with Venta lying here dead.  
  
Chloe nodded to the soldier. Then pointing down, she asked, "Did you see what happened to him?"  
  
The soldier looked down at the body. Venta had been a real asshole sometimes in his treatment of the common 'grunts'. Having him meet his ends at the hands of a scrawny, little girl seemed deliciously appropriate.  
  
"The bear seemed to appear out of nowhere to attack Venta has he stood there watching Ares destroy the other end of the arena. It was on him and knocked him down before he even had a chance to draw his sword. Anyone else would have died from the bear's first blow, but Venta is almost as big as a bear and at least twice as mean. Somehow he got clear long enough to get out his sword, and if he hadn't already been wounded, I think he would have won. I mean I served briefly with him in the Rhineland Army seven years ago, and I saw him defeat a bear in the wild.  
  
"But the bear was on top of him before he could get in the killing blow, which left him pinned as you see him now. Centurion Macrinius and his men were just about to enter the arena to help him when your friends walked up. The black haired girl started screaming about having lived forever and how Venta should have know better than to try to execute her. Then she just raised the spear she had been carrying above her head and slammed it into his chest."  
  
Clark and Chloe just looked at each other for a second. This didn't sound like the Lana they knew, but if someone tortured you to death and then you had the opportunity to turn the tables, who wouldn't take revenge?  
  
Chloe sighed. When they got home to Smallville, Lana was going to need some serious therapy, if this day wasn't to haunt her for the rest of her life.  
  
"How long ago did our friends leave?"  
  
"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago."  
  
"What's your name, soldier?"  
  
"Ahh, Tibor Pertinaxius, ma'am."  
  
"Well, Tibor, on your next day off, stop at the Flavian estate and ask for Rogerus. Tell him who you are and I will see to it you are properly rewarded for your services today."  
  
"Thank you, ma'am." The soldier said with a deep bow normally reserved for the emperor.  
  
"Now, if you would be so kind as to show us the quickest way out of the stadium, I want to get home."  
  
"Of course, if you will follow me. I would be happy to try and locate you a sedan chair, but I am afraid everything is in turmoil due to the fire."  
  
Chloe smiled to him as she and Clark followed him. "Thanks, but it suddenly feels like a beautiful day and I would like to walk."  
  
As soon as they were clear of the stadium they said their good-byes to the helpful soldier.  
  
Turning to her, Clark said, "Would you like me to carry you? I can have you home in under a second."  
  
Chloe shook her head. "I spent the night cooped up in a dungeon and this morning people were throwing spears into me. Right now I just want to enjoy being outside with my guy's arm around me. Could we please walk?"  
  
Clark tightened his arm around her. "Sure. I don't know what I would have done, if I had lost you today."  
  
"It is pretty obvious what you would have done, destroy the whole freaking city. I mean between the fires still burning up at the Praetorian Camp and now the fires in the stadium, we'll be lucky if Nero's great fire doesn't come early."  
  
"I'm sorry I got out of control, but I was so worried about you."  
  
"Clark, until you've got the heat vision thing under control, you've got to stay calm. Besides if I was easy to kill, I never would have survived 17,000 years." For a moment Chloe thought back to her encounter with the French widow, now that was a time she really thought she was going to die. However bring up some of her scariest near death experiences would not help Clark stay calm.  
  
With that comment the conversation died out. Chloe made a couple of attempts to start a conversation about mundane things back in Smallville, but mostly they walked in silence for the fifty minute journey back to the estate.  
  
------------------------  
  
When Clark and Chloe reached the estate, as usual, Rogerus was waiting at the front entrance. He took in Chloe's appearance without the slightest change in his expression.  
  
"Coelia, I have food waiting in the baths. I am afraid you will need to enter through your apartments, the windows in the Solarium have shattered and there are piles of glass all over the floor. It will be several days before it can be cleaned up and I don't know how long until they can be replaced."  
  
"Okay, Rogerus. Have Lex and Lana arrived?"  
  
"Yes, I am afraid they were in the same frightful state you are. I took them directly to the baths."  
  
Chloe nodded. With obvious relief that everyone was now safely back at the estate, she turned to Clark. "I don't know about you, Clark, but I am starving. I haven't had anything to eat since the emperor's party."  
  
"Yeah, me, too. When we got back here last night after the fun at the Praetorian Camp, I didn't have much of an appetite."  
  
Taking Clark's arm, Chloe headed back to her apartment. "So, Clark, did you really rip out the obelisk and throw it through the front gate? That obelisk is absolutely huge!"  
  
Clark only looked a little embarrassed at this comment. After the events of the past two days, he was finally getting use to people knowing his secrets and not always having to play dumb.  
  
"Yeah, although when it tilted over and I had to catch it, for a moment I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew. It worked out okay in the end, and I don't think anyone who saw it will bother us again."  
  
Chloe laughed as they entered the unctuarium. Stripping off the filthy, blood-soaked tunic, she dove into the refreshing cool water. When she surfaced, Clark was just entering the water carrying a couple of large native sponges. "Clark, after you single-handedly destroyed both the Praetorian Camp and the stadium, I don't think anyone here will ever fuck with you again." Then grabbing one of the sponges from Clark, she added, "Except maybe me."  
  
As they scrubbed each other's faces and hair and backs and finally fronts, they also seemed to be washing away the last of the tensions the past day had brought. When their bodies were finally clean, Clark leaned in for a long desired kiss. Ever since he had discovered she was still alive he had wanted to do this, but somehow back at the stadium with Chloe still looking half dead and standing amid all of the destruction he had caused, the moment hadn't felt right. But now, with their bodies fresh and clean, it felt like a new beginning.  
  
Chloe eagerly joined in the kiss, pressing her body tightly against his. The kiss went on for nearly a minute, but when their mouths finally separated, Chloe said, "Clark, I really want this, but there is plenty of time now. Let's go check on Lex and Lana and get something to eat."  
  
Clark nodded. Then remembering Lex had gone through much the same experience as him and probably was enjoying a happy reunion with Lana, Clark grinned. "They may not want to be disturbed."  
  
Pulling Clark from the pool, Chloe gave him one of her patented 'Chloe grins'. "If that's the case, I am sure we can have some food delivered to my rooms."  
  
Grabbing a couple of towels, they headed back into main part of the family's private baths. After searching through the hot baths, the cold baths, the saunas, and the massage rooms, they finally found them sitting out on a balcony overlooking the large reflecting pool which dominated the eastern end of the estate.  
  
As Chloe and Clark paused for a moment in the relative darkness of the interior of the baths, Chloe was surprised to see them just sitting there on a large chaise lounge. After the excitement and terror of the past twelve hours, more than anything Chloe wanted to spend the next few hours alone with Clark making love and she knew Clark felt the same way. And from conversation she had had with both Lex and Lana she thought they would feel the same. They had obviously been through the baths, but now they were just sitting there fully clothed. Lana's bare leg was casually draped across Lex's, but other than that, there wasn't the slightest feeling of intimacy. They were both staring blankly out towards the reflecting pool and Chloe could swear there was a single tear running down Lex's cheek. What was going on? They should both be happy after having survived such near death experiences however the expression on Lex's face made it look like he had just lost his best friend.  
  
With some trepidation for not understanding what was going on, Chloe slowly stepped out onto the balcony. Immediately Lana saw her and a wane smile flickered across her face. A moment later, Lex's eyes also came into focus, quickly followed by a hand brought up to shade his eyes. A movement which would have removed the tear unnoticed, if Chloe hadn't been staring at it. Lana's half-hearted smile and Lex's tear. Something is definitely not right, thought Chloe, as she paused, only two steps onto the balcony.  
  
To be continued. 


	32. Portal Chapter 32

The Portal  
  
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 32  
  
Clark, who had been a step behind Chloe and hadn't noticed anything unusual, fired up one of his megawatt smiles at seeing Lana alive and well.  
  
Chloe was just starting to ask Lex and Lana what was wrong when Clark bumped her in his rush to get over and give the others a hug. As she lurched forward a couple of steps, her hand grasped Lana's leg to regain her balance. Lana suddenly sat bolt upright and the two girls said in unison, "Whoa, what a rush." And then they both fainted.  
  
Clark almost went into speed mode in his rush to catch Chloe. After he had her in his arms, he carefully set her down on the chaise next to Lex and Lana. As he did, he realized that Lana was also out cold and Lex was holding her in his arms, gently stroking her hair, and was whispering over and over. "Laura, please wake up. Laura, everything is going to be okay."  
  
Clark was just about to ask why Lex was calling her Laura when the girls started coming around.  
  
"Chloe, are you okay? What happened?" asked Clark with a hint of fear in his voice as he sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms. With all of her abilities so amply demonstrated this morning, Clark was totally unprepared to have her suddenly faint dead away.  
  
Chloe shook her head for a moment as though to clear it. "Sorry, Clark, I have never experienced anything like that before. Let me talk to Laura for a minute and then we'll try to explain."  
  
Then Chloe turned toward Lana, clasped her hand, and without a word they sat there exchanging 'million mile' stares.  
  
After a few seconds of sitting in utter confusion, Clark turned to Lex who was still delicately holding Lana in his arms, and asked, "Ahh, Lex, what is going on? Why are you and Chloe calling her Laura?"  
  
With a touch of sadness in his voice, Lex answered. "I am not certain exactly what just happened, but back at the stadium when Chloe healed me and brought Lana back, ahh," and for a second Lex's voice broke. "Something went wrong."  
  
Clark felt like someone had slammed a sledgehammer into his guts as he waited for Lex to continue.  
  
"Chloe used her nanobots to heal our injuries. Well, more accurately, she introduced some of her 'bots into our bodies and then had them replicate until our bodies were as saturated as her own. The 'bots are keyed to her genetic code and once she is no longer touching us they are supposed to go dormant. Not disappear, just go dormant.  
  
"Clark, while the healing process was going on, I was directly linked to her nanobot memory system and it was beyond anything you can imagine. Seventeen thousand years worth of memories slamming into me totally at random, and each one feeling perfectly really, like I was Chloe experiencing them for the first time. For the few seconds I experienced it, I almost no longer remembered I was Lex, the experience was so overwhelming.  
  
"Fortunately for me, the experience ended when Chloe broke physical contact and the 'bots in my body switched off. However, when Chloe broke contact with Lana the 'bots didn't turn off."  
  
Clark started to let out a sigh of relief. "It doesn't sound like that big of a problem. I mean, if the 'bots in Lana's body are active, then she must have all of Chloe's instant healing abilities, it sounds like an advantage, not a problem to me."  
  
Lex shook his head. "Clark, you're not getting it, yet. Along with Chloe's physical abilities came all of her memories. It's like suddenly having 17,000 years worth of the best 35 mm movies in your head while your own fifteen to twenty years worth of memories are in comparison a handful of pictures drawn by a five year old child with crayons. Just imagine for a moment if all of your memories of your life, of growing up on the farm, of Martha and Jonathan, of everything were gone and suddenly you had all of my memories instead. You could look in the mirror and intellectually know you are Clark, but in your head you would believe you were Lex."  
  
Clark slowly nodded in understanding. "So, Lana thinks she is Chloe."  
  
"More than 'thinks' she is Chloe; try 'knows' she is Chloe. Oh, with Chloe's need to become a new person every ten or fifteen years to blend in, she can more easily adapt to being in a new body and in new circumstance than anyone else. But as long as the 'bots are active in her body and Chloe's memories are present, she is Chloe in her own mind."  
  
"Why were you calling her Laura?"  
  
"Somehow continuing to call her Lana just didn't feel right and we could hardly call both of them Chloe. So we agreed on Lana's middle name, Laura."  
  
Suddenly, Laura joined into the conversation. "Chloe would no longer be appropriate anyway. Oh, until I awoke in the arena, Chloe and I have exactly the same memories, but since then we have each had our own experiences and memories. Over time we will slowly develop more unique personalities based on different experiences."  
  
Clark looked at Laura. Her slightly different voice helped, but it was still difficult not to think of her as Lana.  
  
"Do you know why you both just passed out?"  
  
"Yeah," answered Chloe. "I, well, neither of us have ever encountered another person with an active nanobot system before. The only other nanobot systems I have met were dormant systems like the one currently in Lex. My 'bot system has a standard set of procedures and protocols for bringing the dormant system back online and beginning to interrogate it for data. All standard procedures fine-tuned over millennia.  
  
"When I touched Lana, the 'bot systems recognized each other as part of the same system, and immediately mirrored all unique data from one of us to the other for added redundancy. Effectively, each of us instantly experienced everything the other had experienced for the past hour since we separated. It momentarily overwhelmed our minds and the 'bot system shut us down until it could recover. Fortunately, the 'bot system has adapted and developed new protocols so in the future, a less disruptive data exchange will occur."  
  
"So you guys are okay now?" asked Lex.  
  
"Yeah, well, as okay as things are likely to be anytime soon," answered Laura. Then, knowing what was foremost in Lex's mind, she turned to Clark. "Clark, I am having a hard time bringing any of Lana's memories back to mind. As Lex said, my memories as Chloe are very vibrant and intense. On the way back over here Lex tried to trigger a memory that only he and Lana, but not Chloe, would share. Unfortunately in this regard, I can access Lex's memories through the 'bot system, so it is hard to say if the common memories I have are coming from Lana or Lex.  
  
"Anyway, since you don't have the issue with 'bots in your body, we were hoping you could suggest some incident that only you and Lana would share, so we can see if I can access her memories. Perhaps if I can figure out how to access one, I can figure out how to access more."  
  
Laura leaned back against Lex to await Clark's response. She found herself hoping this would work. Not just to please Lex, but also for herself. This was Lana's body she was sharing after all, and she didn't want Lana to be gone forever.  
  
Clark paused for only a couple of seconds before responding. The most vivid memory he had of Lana was the first night they had really talked. The same night he had found out about his heritage and had run away from his father in fear and shock. The night he had ended up out in the cemetery.  
  
"My most vivid memory of Lana is one I never shared with anyone and I don't think she did either. Laura, try to remember what Lana's father said the first time she introduced us."  
  
Laura looked at Clark in surprise. She knew Lana's parents were killed during the meteor shower and that Clark arrived during the shower, so there was no way Clark could have met Lana's parents.  
  
To concentrate, Laura closed her eyes and did her best to empty her mind. Forget about Chloe. Forget about Lex. Forget about Rome. Just think about Clark. Clark and Lana.  
  
Suddenly, a strange image popped into her head. Opening her eyes, she looked at Clark. "Clark, I don't know what it means, but all of a sudden I have this mental image of you with wings."  
  
"Wings?" asked Clark. "I don't remember anything about wings. Can you describe it in more detail?"  
  
Laura closed her eyes again to focus on the image. "You are standing, not actually flying or anything. The wings project up behind your back. What it really reminds me of is the movie poster to 'Heaven Can Wait' with Warren Beatty."  
  
"Warren Beatty?"  
  
"Yeah, the movie where he was the star athlete whose guardian angel calls him to heaven before his time and the rest of the movie is spent trying to find him a suitable body to live out his allotted years."  
  
"So they are looking for someone else's body to put his mind into. Why does that suddenly sound so familiar?" asked Lex in a wryly ironic tone.  
  
"Shush," said Laura trying not to let the interruption break her train of thought.  
  
"The wings from the movie poster are angel wings. Classic angel wings. That's what I am seeing. Clark standing there with angel wings."  
  
Clark shook his head. "I have never worn angel wings, so I don't understand the significance. Can you tell where I was standing? Inside or out? Day or night?"  
  
Laura tried to pull back from her image of Clark and see the surroundings. "It is night. Very thick, heavy, low hanging fog is rolling around you."  
  
"Fog?" quietly interjected Clark as he recalled the fog in the cemetery that night.  
  
"You know, fog like in old horror movies set in haunted cemeteries." Suddenly she exclaimed in an excited voice, which suddenly sounded more like the old Lana than the new Laura. "A cemetery! That's where we were. You were standing in front of a statue of an angel. And from where I was standing it looked like you had wings."  
  
Clark realized this was the first time she had said I instead of Lana, perhaps they were making some progress. Continuing in the same quiet voice to keep her moving forward, Clark asked, "Why were you in a cemetery at night?"  
  
Without really thinking about what she was saying, she just automatically responded. "I often visited my parents at night when I needed to think. It was always so much quieter and it felt like they were really there and listening."  
  
"And that night?"  
  
Laura got a far away look in her eyes. "Clark, you looked so lost, like you had no idea where your place was in anything any more. I suddenly had this strong urge to cheer you up and maybe find out what was bothering you."  
  
"So what did you do?" prompted Clark.  
  
"I introduced you to my parents." Then Laura's eyes began to glow as she realized she had remembered the answer to Clark's original question. "My Mom asked if you were upset about a girl. When you said no, my Dad asked if you were upset about a guy. And you got this cute, panicky look on your face like the comment had seriously questioned your masculinity."  
  
Clark smiled. "Well, unless Lana told that story to Lex or Chloe, I think you still have Lana's memories buried somewhere in your little head."  
  
Lex grinned with relief, there was still hope that Lana could be brought back. "I can't speak for Chloe, but I am sure Lana never discussed it with me."  
  
"Clark?" asked Laura.  
  
"Hmm?" responded Clark with raised eyebrows.  
  
"What was bothering you that night? I still can't remember that part."  
  
Clark stared out at the reflecting pool for a moment. "That evening my father told me for the first time I was an alien and then showed me the spaceship. I had always known I was different, but to find out I was an alien was such a shock. By the time you found me the cemetery I was reaching the end of the denial stage and was just beginning to reach the acceptance stage. However with acceptance came the questions of why I was on the Earth. Why had my 'real' parents sent me to Smallville.  
  
"But I couldn't come out and say, 'Well, you see, the reason I am upset is my parents have been lying to me my entire life. And not about some little thing, no, my Dad just told me I am an alien, but everything will be okay, because they still love me.'" Clark shook his head and then let out a long sigh. "So as I always have to do, I gave a nebulous response comparing my long lost biological parents with your long departed parents and then I diverted the conversation back to you."  
  
"Clark," said Chloe as she leaned over to rest her head against his shoulder. "You don't have to always divert the conversation in the future. You have us now. Whenever you feel the need to talk, we are here for you."  
  
As Clark wrapped his arm a little tighter around her in appreciation, he looked over to see Lex and Laura nod their heads in agreement. He wasn't certain how this conversation had suddenly become about him, but he appreciated their support.  
  
"Chloe," began Clark, wanting to return the support. "Back at the stadium you said there was a side effect to your healing people with your abilities and that it led to some of the darkest times in your life. I am guessing from this conversation, it is something different than what happened to Lana. If you want to talk about it, I am here for you just like you are here for me when I need to talk about my issues with my biological family."  
  
Chloe nodded. She knew from the memory download she had received from Laura that Lex had already experienced some of the things she needed to discuss and he could probably extrapolate some of it from there. Lex could learn the rest of it from Laura since she shared all of Chloe's memories, but it was better if the whole story came from her instead of Laura. Before the story was finished, Lex might need to hate someone and if so, it would be better if it was her, so as not to taint Lex's relationship with Laura or Lana or whatever hybrid personality might result in the end.  
  
"I need to start from the beginning so you can understand why I ended up where I did. The story is going to take awhile, so let's order up some lunch before I begin." Chloe merely clapped her hands and one of Rogerus' well trained staff was there in a moment.  
  
After ordering a meal to be brought up to the balcony, Chloe leaned back against Clark and began. "I wasn't always aware of my healing abilities. Actually, I was over seven thousand years old before I made the discovery.  
  
"I was living in a small farming community about forty miles from Atlantis when I made the discovery. I had been happily married for sixteen years and we had four beautiful children." Here she paused a moment and looked into Clark's eyes. A week ago, when the topic of her being married before had come up, it had bothered Clark a lot. Hopefully with an additional week of knowing her secret, he would be more able to accept it, as her daughter Keviuh was an integral part of the story.  
  
Clark smiled. "Having seen you and Laura return from the dead really drives home some of the realities of your life. I think I have adjusted to your having had other families before meeting me."  
  
At hearing this Chloe had to lean over and whisper a quiet thank you in his ear.  
  
"My husband's name was Kefrey. We had two daughters, Keviuh, 15, and Gefiuh, 13. And we had twin eleven year old sons, Kefrey Junior and Arvrey. My name at the time was Sliviuh."  
  
As Lex sat there with Laura in his arms, he abruptly got a mental image of Chloe's family. More than just a picture of their faces, in a second he experienced ten minutes from Chloe's life. Not the horrific events she was about to describe, but a happy time two months earlier at the twins' eleventh birthday celebration. Instantly, the memory of their faces and even a little of their personalities were burned into his mind. He found it amazing how much Keviuh looked like Chloe.  
  
"Wow, Chloe, Keviuh really did look like you, right down to the smile." remarked Lex.  
  
Clark looked at Lex and then back to Chloe with a perplexed expression on his face.  
  
"I think Laura just showed Lex a memory of my family back then. It is part of the side effects I want to explain. If I want, I can hear the thoughts of anyone who I touch who has been infected with my 'bots. Or I can make it a two way conversation like Laura and I were sharing earlier. Or I can share with them any memory stored in the nanobot system."  
  
"Clark, the memories are more real than you would believe. In what couldn't have been over a second, I experienced from Chloe's perspective ten minutes from Kef and Arvrey's eleventh birthday party and suddenly it feels like they are my own kids." Added Lex with a small shake of his head, still trying to come to grips with all of the new things he had experienced in the past couple of hours. It occurred to him that his life would never be the same again, even when they got back to Smallville.  
  
Chloe looked at Laura. "Are you sure it was wise to show Lex that image?"  
  
Laura shrugged, "I don't want there to be any secrets between us. I thought he had the right to know."  
  
"You have to know where the story is going next and I don't want him to be overwhelmed."  
  
Laura looked back at Chloe. "Sorry. I'll try to skip the visual aids for awhile."  
  
"Getting back to the story, shortly after dawn one morning our farm was attacked by raiders from the highlands. I thought we lived far enough from the highlands and near enough to Atlantis to never experience this problem, but I was wrong. A large horde of horsemen cut a swath of destruction five miles wide in a sweeping arc through farmlands to the west of Atlantis. They destroyed everything they couldn't carry away and we happened to get caught in the middle of it."  
  
Chloe paused for a moment to steel herself to tell the next portion. "The raiders were storming the farm before we knew it or had a chance to respond. In a matter of seconds after it started, Kefrey, Gefiuh, and my sons were all dead. Cruelly cut down as I helplessly watched. Soon, only Keviuh and I were still alive and that was only so they could have some fun before killing us, too."  
  
Lex was almost in shock; Laura could feel through their connection. She knew Chloe had been right. She shouldn't have given Lex such vivid memories of them right before telling him they would shortly all be dead. 'I'm sorry, Lex.' She thought. 'I should have just let Chloe tell the story without butting in. I don't know what I was thinking. Things are obviously not as simple as Chloe's mind stuck in Lana's body. There are interactions between the mind and body which are already making my actions different than Chloe expects. I hope you can understand and will forgive me.'  
  
Lex was still trying to come to grips with his feelings. Along with Chloe's memories of the birthday party had come her feelings as a parent who deeply loved and cared for her children. And Lex for the first time really understood what it was like to be a parent, a feeling he never experienced with his father and could only vaguely remember with his mother. It was a feeling of joy different than anything he had known. Different, and in some ways more fulfilling, than the love of a woman.  
  
And then, to suddenly find out within months of those memories, they would all be dead. It shook Lex. He knew intellectually they weren't his children and that they had been dead for thousands of years, but it had felt so real. And it had felt so good. In the past week he had had frequent dreams of spending the rest of his life with Lana, but children had never entered his thoughts. Now he knew children would be an important part.  
  
'It is okay, Laura. Maybe you didn't consciously realize why you gave me that memory, but it was important.' And then Lex let his newfound feelings pour into Laura through their link.  
  
'Oh, my god, Lex' responded Laura. 'I never pictured you as the happy, domestic father type before. But now, I think you will make a great father some day. If, as you say, I didn't consciously understand why I gave you that memory, was it my subconscious, or a subliminal message from Lana?'  
  
Lex gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. 'Or perhaps a combination of you two? Who knows? I guess we will figure it out as we go along.'  
  
This mental exchange between Lex and Laura only took a couple of seconds and they returned their attention to Chloe, as she continued to speak.  
  
"After the raiders had their fun, they did as I expected. They savagely sliced open our bellies and then threw Keviuh's body on top of mine. As I lay there in shock, I watched her slowly die. Then my anger and frustration grew and grew. This was not the first time or even the tenth I had been force to watch loved ones put to death while I could do nothing, but helpless watch, knowing I would be forced to go on alone.  
  
"But this time I could feel her blood seeping into my, as yet, unhealed wounds. My 'bots would heal my wounds; however Keviuh, whose wounds were pressed tightly against my own, was destined to die. I had never been in quite the same situation before, particularly with someone I cared about as much as my daughter and I would do anything to let her survive.  
  
"By this time I had spent thousands of years testing the limits of the 'bots built-in safety protocols and had found a few loopholes to use to my advantage. This time I needed to find a new loophole in seconds. As you have surely guessed, I found a way to force some of the 'bots in my blood to pass into her body and then begin a rapid replication process to heal her wounds. Just like with Lex and Lana, in only a few seconds my 'bots had saturated her entire body and then the repairs to her body proceeded as rapidly as in my own.  
  
"You can't imagine how happy I was when she opened her eyes and said, 'Mommy'." At this point Chloe's eyes were shining with tears.  
  
Clark pulled her into a hug and rocked her for a minute.  
  
Finally, Chloe gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, pulled back a little and wiped at her eyes.  
  
"Sorry, anyway after holding her to me for a few seconds, I remembered the rest of my family lying about us, also dead. If I could save Keviuh, I suddenly hoped I could save the rest. And I tried, and tried, but it was too late. If only the raiders had killed us at the same time as the rest, there might have been a chance. But the others had been dead for over twenty minutes, and as I would eventually discover, five minutes is about the max for my 'bots to bring anyone back."  
  
Lex felt a shudder run through his body. "Five minutes? It must have been longer than that with Laura."  
  
Chloe shook her head. "Lex, I think this is one of those times where it feels like time slows way down. From the time the killing spear hit her until I was able to introduce my 'bots into her body was four minutes and eleven seconds. But if you guys had been just a couple of minutes later. . ."  
  
"We need to thank Cyrus for getting to us when he did," said Clark.  
  
"Cyrus?" asked Chloe with a surprised look on her face. "But he is the one who got us into this whole mess in the first place."  
  
"And I think he regretted it. Thankfully, he tried the best he could to make amends," answered Lex.  
  
"So, Chloe, what happened next with you and your daughter?" asked Clark, curious how this apparently happy occasion of saving her daughter's life would ultimately lead to some of her darkest times.  
  
"The raiders put the house to the torch before they departed. By the time I was forced to give up the futile attempt to save the rest of my family, the house was engulfed in flames. When we made our escape from the fire, we discovered the rest of the outbuildings also ablaze and all of the farmhands we could find were dead.  
  
"We made our way to the farm of our nearest neighbor, but even before we arrived we could see the billowing smoke. By the time we reached the smoldering remains of the house, Keviuh had started to recover from the shock of finding herself unhurt after receiving mortal wounds and from the shock of seeing the rest of the family dead. Now her thoughts were only of Larweto, her fiancé. They were supposed to have been married in another two weeks, and she was becoming frantic to find him.  
  
"Larweto's family owned a farm a little over a mile away. From our neighbor's farm, we made the journey at a dead run. When we got there, we found the same wholesale destruction as everywhere else. We searched and searched, but Larweto's body must have been in one of the buildings that burned. Finally, Keviuh fell to her knees in exhaustion and despair.  
  
"I collapsed to the ground beside her and wrapped her in my arms for the first time since leaving our own family farm. As I sat there hugging her, I realized my 'bots had brought her 'bots back on-line. I guess in the shock of the day's events, I never thought about how the 'bots would still be in her body. Now, not only could I direct the 'bots to physically remove her exhaustion, but I could read her very thoughts. This was something entirely new to me and I spent sometime exploring the limits of my abilities."  
  
"Chloe," interrupted Lex. "I don't quite understand why the physical contact is necessary for the dormant 'bots to be brought back on-line."  
  
"Well, Lex, you need to remember the scale of the 'bots. They are so tiny, on average, fifty 'bots reside in every cell of my body, and now in yours and Laura's, too. Each 'bot consists of only a few tens of thousands of atoms. They are really tiny. Therefore they are extremely low powered and each 'bot can only communicated with the nearest twenty to thirty 'bots. A 'bot can't even directly communicate with another 'bot at the extreme other end of the same cell, let alone a 'bot in my head directly communicating with one in my left big toe. So due to the low power nature of the 'bots, any data that must transferred from head to toe, will pass through billions of 'bots to reach its destiny.  
  
"Now this may sound cumbersome, but in fact the message is sent on millions of parallel paths and with proper error checking routines in place, this is a fast, highly reliable method of sending data. Actually, the military back home is just starting to experiment with a similar highly redundant, low powered networking concept called 'Smart Dust'. Their plan is to saturate the battlefield with trillions of dust-sized sensors and networking devices. Of course, these dust-size devices are a million times larger that my 'bots and have a receiving and sending range best measured in centimeters rather than microns as with my 'bots."  
  
Chloe shook her head. "Sorry, I got sort of sidetracked, but to answer your question, my 'bots have extremely short range and only actual physical contact brings the 'bots in my skin close enough to make contact with 'bots in the skin of the other person.  
  
Laura could almost hear the sigh of relief she felt through her link with Lex. Remembering conversations he had shared with Chloe on the boat trip to Rome, she knew Lex was a very private person and how much effort it had taken for him to truly open up to Lana. Knowing he could regain his privacy by merely avoiding her and Chloe's touch was so important to him, she suddenly wondered if today's events had destroyed any possible future for Lana and Lex.  
  
Trying to respect what she thought were Lex's wishes, Laura started to get up to move to another chair.  
  
"Where are you going?" asked Lex, his tone implying more than simple curiosity.  
  
Laura didn't pause to respond until she had stood up and broken contact with him. With a slight tremor in her voice she responded. "Lex, I'm sorry. I just realized how important your privacy is to you. It is very difficult to not listen into your thoughts when we are touching. You could say it is almost addictive. It is probably for the best if we don't touch for now."  
  
Lex stared up at her. He could sense how much she wanted to be held right now. He could feel in himself the desire for the contact and the clarity of understanding the nanobot link provided. He started to reach to pull her back down, but then hesitated. They had been in almost constant physical contact since leaving the arena, maybe it would be best if he had some time alone to clear his thoughts and try to come to grips with what was happening with his life, as so much had changed in the past twenty four hours: finding out Clark's secret, losing the girls, discovering the girls' lifeless bodies, experiencing the effects of Chloe's 'bots, and having Lana brought back to life, but then finding out it was Chloe's mind in her body. It was simply overwhelming.  
  
Finally, Lex nodded with a somewhat sad expression on his face. "Okay, I understand. Maybe it is best if we each have a little time alone to understand what is happening to us, so we can make the right decisions about where we want things to head in the future."  
  
Laura nodded in return, but her heart ached for a return of the feeling of togetherness brought through the linking of their minds by the nanobots. It allowed a level of intimacy she hadn't permitted herself to experience in a very long time. But it was for the best to make sure Lex understood all of the ramifications before she accidentally or intentionally took things to the next level.  
  
As Laura was about to take the seat next to Lex, a servant arrived carrying a tray with a bottle of wine and four crystal goblets. Laura helped herself to a glass and took a large shallow, enjoying the burning sensation as it went down her throat. Perhaps a little bit of a buzz would help take the edge off of her feelings. Oh, she could use her 'bots to tweak the chemistry of her brain to achieve the same effect, but sometimes the natural ways were the best. Draining her glass with a second big shallow, she set the glass down on a nearby table and took the seat across from Lex.  
  
"Okay, Chloe, I think I am ready for you to continue with the story." She said with a lingering glance back at Lex.  
  
Chloe nodded. She knew from long experience Lex and Laura would benefit from focusing on the story for awhile and letting their subconscious worry about the ramifications of the nanobot-mindlink on their relationship.  
  
"After what must have been an hour sitting just holding each other in the yard in front of Larweto's family's home, I finally forced Keviuh to her feet. Sitting there wasn't doing anyone any good. With nothing but destruction at any of the farms we had visited, I decided we should try Susa, the nearest small town. It was not quite three miles away and I could see the massive, billowing smoke before we even started out, but I was sure there must be survivors among the hundreds of people who lived there.  
  
"We reached the town, or at least the remains of the town, in about an hour. Along the way we didn't see a single living soul and on reaching the outskirts of the town it didn't seem likely there either, as every wooden building had been burned. We walked from street to street calling out for anyone who might hear us, but nothing.  
  
"It wasn't until we were almost too far side of the town and I was starting to think we would have to continue walking towards Atlantis that I heard it, a faint child's cries. With a couple minutes of searching, Keviuh spotted him trapped under a partially collapsed stone wall. It took us several minutes to clear away most of the loose rubble until only the large stone pinning his legs remained.  
  
"The boulder on his legs was huge and even without removing it; I could tell his legs had been crushed. I found a stout timber, which hadn't been burned, and working together Keviuh and I managed to lever the stone free. And that's when I saw the damage to the boy's legs was even worse than I had suspected, the way the stones had fallen had sheared off his right leg just above the ankle. Only the crushing weight of the stones had kept him from bleeding to death and now we had removed the impromptu tourniquet.  
  
"The blood was rapidly pumping out of the stump of his leg and if I didn't do something quickly, in seconds he would be dead. Dead. And I had already seen so much death and destruction. Suddenly, one more death seemed utterly intolerable. Remembering how I had saved Keviuh through the mixing of our blood, I dug my fingernails into the palm of my hand as hard as I could until I felt the blood begin to flow. Quickly, before my injury could start to heal, I pressed my palm against the torn remains of the boy's leg. This time I instantly knew in my head the proper protocols required to force my 'bots to enter his body and begin the colonization process.  
  
"However this time the repairs took significantly longer than with Keviuh, major reconstruction of missing bones is much more time consuming than repairs to soft tissue. Almost two minutes elapsed before the boy was fully restored."  
  
"Wait a second," said Lex suddenly sitting up a little straighter. "You mean you can regrow missing limbs?" This was something he didn't recall from the flashes of memory he had received from Chloe during his own healing process or later from his mindlink with Laura.  
  
Chloe shrugged and gave a small smile before nodding. "As I told Clark back at the arena, I wouldn't have survived seventeen thousand years if I wasn't hellaciously difficult to kill."  
  
Lex leaned back in his chair once again marveling at this unexpected surprise from Chloe. What other abilities did she have that she had yet to reveal? And then it struck him that his body had those same abilities, too. At least if Laura or Chloe was touching him. He wasn't quite ready to sacrifice his mind like Lana had unwittingly done to end up with an active 'bot system, but it would certainly be a useful advantage in his business world to have the computational and memory storage abilities of the girls, as well as the healing abilities.  
  
As Lex continued to muse over the possibilities with an active 'bot system, Chloe continued with her story.  
  
"When he had recovered from the shock of his wounds and his recovery, we found out his name was Donus and he was five years old. We spent some time looking for his parents, but there were no other survivors in the town.  
  
"By this time it was well past noon and I decided we needed to start thinking about getting out of this area of total destruction. Heading towards Atlantis seemed the best bet for, as big as this party of raiders had been, they surely had stopped short of the city itself. So, with a heavy heart at once again having to leave a formerly happy life behind and start all over, I set a path forward. At least this time I wasn't totally alone, I had Keviuh and Donus.  
  
"We walked until nearly nightfall before reaching a settlement outside the swath of destruction. Other survivors had also straggled out and they had setup some makeshift facilities in the town hall. We found an unused corner, hung some spare blankets as walls, and had our own little space for the night.  
  
"I was sitting there thinking about our next move. I had funds stashed away in Atlantis, so it was the obvious first stop. After that, I was still undecided; I just knew I wanted to get away from the immediate area and all of the bad memories of my lost family.  
  
"Mainly, I was sitting there thinking dark thoughts. Suddenly, Donus raced up, grabbed my hand and tugged, telling me to hurry. I jumped up, immediately afraid something had happened to Keviuh. I quickly followed after Donus as he led the way across the central courtyard to the entrance hall.  
  
"In the entry way I found a new group of refugees, including a little girl lying on a stretcher. She had crude bandages wrapped around her middle, but her blood had soaked through. And she was shivering violently.  
  
"Donus pulled at my sleeve and said with a pleading expression in his eyes, 'Please, Sliviuh, will you help her like you helped me?'  
  
"The two adults with her, who were obviously her parents, looked at me with hopeful, expectant expressions, assuming I was the village healer. And it finally sunk home with me that I was a healer, although a different style of healer than anyone had seen before. Perhaps this was my new destiny after the loss of my family, to become a healer.  
  
"I nodded to the parents and then requested the man's knife. He looked concerned for a moment but then handed it over. I knelt down next to the girl and carefully peeled back the bandages around her abdomen. The blood was still oozing from the exposed lacerations. I took the knife, slashed open my palm, and quickly pressed it against the girl's open wound.  
  
"As I had done twice already that day, I forced my 'bots into her body. This time, once the replication process was complete, I spent the seconds while the healing was being accomplished exploring the girl's memories. In those five seconds I learned her name, her parent's names, and that she had lost three sisters and one brother to the raiders.  
  
"At the end of the total ten second process, I removed my healed hand and turned to the parents as their daughter sat up. 'Mayius is fine now. I am sorry about the loss of your other children.'  
  
"Mayius' parents sat there in shock as she jumped to her feet and ran over to hug them.  
  
"And so began the next period of my life as word, stories, and rumors of my healing abilities spread throughout the region."  
  
Chloe paused at this point in her story to get some more wine. While she was up, the others also took the opportunity to rise and stretch.  
  
As he helped himself to fresh plate of fruits, Lex asked, "Chloe, I understand the remainder of your story is important, but if you don't mind a short digression onto another important topic? Did you find out anything about the whereabouts of the Professor last night from Venta?"  
  
Chloe paused with her wine cup halfway to her mouth. Looking at Lex, she shook her head. "Not directly, however it certainly seemed like Venta hadn't heard from the Professor recently or knew he was back from the future."  
  
Lex had to grin briefly at her inadvertent reference to the old Michael J. Fox movie. "If Venta hadn't heard from the Professor, does that mean he hasn't arrived yet or did he have a different destination in mind when he left Tolosa in such a rush?"  
  
Chloe shrugged. "Whether he was headed somewhere else or headed here doesn't matter now. I mean even if he was headed here, but hadn't arrived yet, I doubt he will come here now. Certainly word of the 'Greek Gods looking for a man named Carius who is carrying magical green stones' and Venta's death at the stadium will spread from Rome like wildfire. If word reaches him before he arrives in Rome, I can't believe he will continue to here. I mean with Tiberius dead he has lost his powerbase and now with Venta gone, too. Well . . ."  
  
"If he isn't coming here, then where?" asked Clark.  
  
"The only other logical place for the Professor to head would seem to be General Domicius and the Rhine Army," answered Laura.  
  
"That was my thought, too," agreed Lex. "Has there been any word from the people you sent to watch the passes?"  
  
"Not as of yesterday," said Chloe. "Let's get Rogerus up here to see if he has any more recent information."  
  
After Chloe had a servant send for Rogerus she continued. "I think we need to start planning to move north as soon as possible to intercept the Rhine army and hopefully catch up with the Professor. I have a sudden strong feeling time is of the essence."  
  
"Me, too." said Laura.  
  
Clark and Lex just looked at her.  
  
Under their stare, she finally responded. "Hey, I can have that feeling too; I am not just some clone of Chloe."  
  
"Sorry," responded both Lex and Clark at the same time, almost sounding like clones themselves.  
  
"What is the fastest way north?" asked Lex.  
  
"Horseback," said Chloe and Laura simultaneously which led them to look at each other and start to giggle.  
  
As the girls shared a laugh, Lex got a frown on his face remembering the discomfort of the horseback ride from Tolosa to Narbo and the stiffness and soreness he had 'enjoyed' in his legs, back, and butt for several days afterwards.  
  
Seeing the look on Lex's face, when Laura got her laughter under control she said. "Lex, this will be much less painful than the first day out of Tolosa. You will just need to let Chloe or me touch you for a few seconds occasionally and I can guarantee you no pain or stiffness afterwards."  
  
Lex was surprised he had forgot the nanobots in his system so soon after their recent conversation. It drove home to him how much he had been dreading getting back on that horse.  
  
Clark, too, was not looking forward to getting back into the Roman saddle. But then he decided since everyone was in on his 'secret', there was no need. "Ahh, guys. I am just going to run rather than ride, if it is okay with you."  
  
Chloe nodded. "Sure, Clark, although I think it is best we bring along a spare horse for you. There may be times we will want to enter towns without drawing attention to ourselves."  
  
"Okay," agreed Clark.  
  
"What is the quickest route?" asked Lex.  
  
"It would be fastest to take the coast road up to Pisa, or Pisae as it is known here. From there we can either continue up the coast to Genua or turn inland if we find word the Rhineland Army has used one of the eastern passes through the Alps," answered Laura.  
  
As he heard Laura mention Genua, Lex's mind returned to the night they had spent in Genua on their way down to Rome, the night he had first seen Lana nude. And now to have her body standing here next to him, but it was no longer exactly her. It was still going to take more time for his brain to adjust.  
  
With an almost physical effort Lex pulled his mind away from Genua and Lana, and back to the topic at hand. "What about when we catch up to this army? It doesn't sound like you plan to bring the emperor along or scrounge up some other legions, like we had discussed earlier."  
  
This time it was Clark who spoke up first. "No games this time. Look at the mess it got us into last time. This time I am going ask straight out for them to turn over the General and the Professor, if he is there. And if they don't agree, well, I am just going to bust down the front door and take them."  
  
Remembering the action at the Praetorian Camp on the previous evening, Lex knew no mere Roman Army, no matter how large, was going to stop Clark once he had his mind set. "Okay, Clark. I guess that answers my question."  
  
Chloe still remembered Clark's comments about the effect meteor rocks had on him. If the Professor and his meteor rocks were with the Rhine Army, Clark needed to be ready for such an eventuality. Chloe still had the lead-lined box she had acquired their first day in Tolosa after her conversation with Clark at the baths. Now she just needed to retrieve it from her room and she was ready to go.  
  
"When did you want to leave?" asked Lex, expecting Chloe to respond with an answer of 'in a few days'.  
  
"This afternoon," was her response. When Lex looked at her in surprise, she shrugged. "What's the old saying? 'We came, we saw, we conquered.' We've seen Rome. We've seen chariot races at the Circus Maximus. We didn't quite get to see any gladiators fighting, but being recipients of an execution at the arena was, I think, close enough. We destroyed the Praetorian Camp and the Stadium. Hmm, I believe that pretty much covers all of the highlights of ancient Rome.  
  
"And, okay, so a couple of us were executed this morning. It's not like any of us need any more time to heal. We are all as physically fit now as we will be tomorrow or the next day. So, let's be on our way. I, for one, am ready to move on and leave Rome in the past."  
  
"I agree," said Laura. Turning to Lex, she continued. "Remaining in Rome is not going to make it any easier to get Lana back; we might as well be on our way."  
  
Even though Rome was the last place Lex had seen and talked to Lana, he knew Laura was right. There was nothing magical about Rome that would, in itself, bring her back. Slowly he nodded.  
  
They all turned to Clark, who had the final vote. He merely looked back at them, nodded solemnly, and said, "Let's do it."  
  
Just as the decision had become unanimous, Rogerus arrived.  
  
Chloe turned to him. "Rogerus, has there been any word of the Rhine Army?"  
  
Rogerus shook his head. "No word, yet."  
  
Chloe nodded. "It is now apparent what we were searching for when we came to Rome is not here. If it is to be found, it must be with the Rhine Army. We want to head north immediately." Here Chloe paused for a moment. She really wanted to finish her story for Lex's sake before they left and then they needed to do a little light packing. "Please have four horses ready for us in two hours. Also I want at least fifty of our guards with us until we are well clear of the city."  
  
Rogerus nodded to indicate it would all be taken care of. Coelia had always been a very spontaneous person. He was not at all surprised she would leave Rome as suddenly as she had arrived.  
  
"I will see everything is ready," said Rogerus offering a short, polite bow before departing.  
  
As everyone settled back down for the remainder of Chloe's story, Lex leaned forward and looked at her. "Chloe, you can cut to the chase, if you want. I am a big boy and I can handle whatever it is you are easing up to so carefully."  
  
Seeing the look on her face, Lex pulled his comment back a little. "If it helps you to talk about it, by all means proceed at your own pace."  
  
Chloe hadn't discussed the following events in her story with anyone in a very long time. Was she really dragging things out to be easier on Lex or was it to try and rationalize to herself and the others some of the things she had done? Perhaps in the light of today's events, the things she needed to say weren't really that scarily dark.  
  
"Okay, Lex," she began after finally looking him in the eye. "I will try to speed up the story."  
  
Chloe dropped her eyes again and continued in a low, subdued tone. "However you have to understand this is very hard for me to talk about. Some of the things I did were so morally wrong by the standards I have always believed in. I mean, over the course of a seventeen thousand year life, the majority of which was spent in very barbaric societies by modern standards, I have killed a number of people. And as a ruler on numerous occasions, I have led troops into countless battles. Who knows, the number of people who have died under my command is probably well into the millions. But those people all died of their own free will. Well, it is not easy to get out of an army about to go into battle, but it is possible. Unfortunately, for the people in the events I am about to relate, that wasn't possible."  
  
Chloe let out long, slow sigh before looking back up. "I spent thirty years as an itinerant healer. Eventually, when Donus grew up, he got married and settled in a pleasant little village. Keviuh remained with me and every year or two we tried to visit Donus. As the years went by, our apparent relationships changed until eventually I was taken for the daughter and Keviuh my mother and Donus my favorite uncle."  
  
"Wait a second," interrupted Lex. "You mean they continued to get older? I thought the 'bots would take care of that."  
  
"Sorry, Lex, when I touch someone with my 'bots, I can activate them and make the person be in the best physical condition possible for their age, but the aging doesn't stop. Well, perhaps if I wanted to play Siamese twin and touched someone continuously forever, then the aging would probably stop. But I think Laura may be the first person infected with my 'bots who could possibly live forever like me."  
  
Lex frowned a little at this. It sounded like his 'passive' 'bot system had a lot less advantages than the 'active' ones in Chloe and Laura. Still, if Chloe's guestimate of roughly thirty years until modern science would be able to duplicate her abilities was correct, it meant it wouldn't be too late for him.  
  
Getting back to her story, Chloe continued. "As I said, I spent thirty years as an itinerant healer. During those years I explored what I could do with my 'bots in other people's bodies. Oh, I didn't explore my abilities much with Keviuh, since she was family, but I rationalized my actions with others as just the unspoken price they would have to pay in exchange for my healing services.  
  
"I mastered the basic things we have discussed like being able to read the other's thoughts, hold a two-way conversation, and even create a virtual reality situation where we could interact."  
  
"What do you mean virtual reality?" asked Clark.  
  
"This is something I have already experienced with Laura," responded Lex. "Clark, while Laura and I were touching she made it seem like we were back in my office at the castle. And it felt perfectly real. I could walk around, play pool, drink, anything; and it all felt real."  
  
"What Lex hasn't mentioned," added Laura, "Is while this was going on I was controlling his body in the real world, too. We were walking back from the arena at the time and Lex even stopped to chat with a couple of vendors without knowing it."  
  
"Shit," whispered Lex under his breath. He knew she had been controlling his body, but hadn't realized she could even have him carry on conversations without his knowledge. Was this what Chloe was driving towards with her story?  
  
Laura looked at Lex. "I don't have to touch you to know what you are thinking. And, yes, if I was touching you, we could meet someone, say your father, without you ever knowing and I could have you hold a conversation with him of my choosing without either of you ever suspecting. I mean, your voice would sound just like the normal you. And any information I needed to be convincing, I could pull from your memory. The whole time you could even think you were in the very same room and not even realize it was only a virtual reality copy."  
  
Lex's mind was starting to spin as some of the implications hit home. Could he ever trust to let Chloe or Laura touch him again? Would he even know if he was touching one of them, if they could smoothly transition to a virtual reality where they seemed to be sitting across the room, or not even present?  
  
Lex almost started to hyperventilate. Was he even really here, now? Or was this all some construct in his mind? Finally, he realized he needed to calm himself. Neither Chloe nor Laura had ever shown anything but the best intentions toward him. And even now, they were explaining things to him when they could have just as easily kept this information to themselves. Perhaps, thought Lex, it would have been better if they had kept things to themselves.  
  
"Lex," asked Chloe, "Are you still with us?"  
  
Lex forced himself to become aware of his surroundings. The others were all carefully watching him. "Yeah, I was just thinking about some of the implications of what you and Laura said."  
  
"Good. I am glad you understand enough to be thinking about the implications," said Chloe as she resumed control of the conversation to keep Lex focused on thinking about her rather than Laura. "If I hadn't grown up in a place where virtual reality was possible, I would never have thought of trying it on others who had my 'bots. Up in the twenty first century that level of virtual reality isn't possible yet, but it is close enough people understand the concept whether it is called virtual reality, or 'the holodeck' on Star Trek, or whatever. But back in the time period where I discovered my healing abilities and was exploring what I could do with my 'bots in the recipient's bodies; people had no concept or understanding of virtual reality.  
  
Chloe shook her head. "I experimented a lot in those years, but mostly kept myself under control. Until it happened. After thirty years, Keviuh and my paths once again crossed with the highland raiders and this time Keviuh didn't survive the encounter. After forty-five years happy years together, one of the longest spans in my entire life, something in me snapped when I found her broken and mutilated body.  
  
"Upon finding out the raiders had caused her death, the same way they had wiped out the rest of my family so long ago, a darkness grew inside of me until I vowed I would wipe out the raiders to the last man. To accomplish this goal I knew I would need my own army. I had commanded armies before, but never like this. No, this time I used my 'bots to control the army."  
  
"How could you use your 'bots to control the army?" asked Clark. "I mean you can only touch a few people at one time."  
  
"Subliminal messages. Okay, maybe not so subliminal. What if you thought you were somewhere familiar like shooting hoops on the side of your barn when God walked up and started telling you about your new mission in life. And we're talking God with all the trappings, a voice which made your very bones vibrate, a chorus of a million angels in the background, an internal luminosity only a God could have. Well, a primitive mind, hell even a contemporary one, would be overwhelmed if it seemed real enough. And I could make it seem perfectly real.  
  
"I started with a few leaders of the Atlantian army, but eventually I shared blood with every man in the army and each one of them had his own personal encounter with God or some equivalent."  
  
Lex suddenly flashed back to one of Chloe's memories he had experienced during his healing process, a memory of Chloe working her way down a seemingly endless line of soldiers sharing blood and minds with everyone. A shudder ran through him as he imagined an army of zealots who really believed they had each personally met God and who would make modern-day suicide bombers seem like non-believers.  
  
"Oh, my god," whispered Lex, suddenly looking slightly pale under the bright mid-day sun.  
  
"Yeah," answered Chloe. "The next couple of centuries were not one of my prouder moments. It is one thing to use your gifts to rule benevolently and really try to help people. It is something else entirely when you use mind-control to dominate an entire civilization for your own dark agenda."  
  
Chloe paused to run her right hand through her short blonde hair. "After that whole experience in Atlantis, I promised myself I would never use my gifts in a similar manner again. And for the past ten thousand years I have mostly stuck to my promise. Oh, I have on occasion forced my 'bots into someone who didn't need healing, but because I needed the truth from them. Or I have on very rare occasions forced my 'bots on someone to give them a 'vision' to nudge mankind on a new path during particularly dark or bleak times. But I have tried for the most part to let mankind proceed forward at its own pace without excessive interference."  
  
"Well, Lex, there you have it. Since you are caught in this situation with my 'bots in your body, I wanted you to have the whole story upfront. I have no intention of messing in, or controlling your mind or your life. You're a smart guy and from what you have already experienced with Laura I figured you would eventually extrapolate a lot these capabilities on my part. And I didn't want you ending up afraid I was intentionally hiding this from you because I had some secret agenda."  
  
Lex, for a moment, flashed back to the long ago comment by Clark at the baths in Tolosa about not trying to take advantage of her as she was very capable of watching her back. At the time he hadn't comprehended the full significance of that statement. Eventually, when he discovered she was the wealthiest person through out history, he had only understood the financial risks of tangling with her. But now, the true significance had been driven home: it was within her abilities to completely and totally mess with your head without you even being aware it was happening. She definitely was the one person you never wanted to seriously piss off.  
  
Laura had been watching Lex and trying to read his expression. It would have been so much easier if they still shared the mindlink. But it would have to be Lex's decision if they would ever do that again. Since the situation wasn't under Lex's physical control, she had to leave the mental decision up to him. It was a rule she had forced herself to live with for thousands of years and it seemed to be for the best.  
  
"Lex," began Laura. "The same goes for me. Now that you know the truth, I would never use my abilities on you without your permission."  
  
Lex looked from Chloe to Laura. Life had been so much simpler just yesterday. He had found the girl of his dreams and this whole little trip to Rome had seemed almost like a lark. But in the past twenty-four hours, everything had been turned upside-down. He had finally found out the answers to the questions about Clark which had been almost an obsession for the past year and within hours they had paled to almost insignificance. When your body was infested with 'bots under someone else's control, no matter how benign their intentions were, it put a whole new spin on your perspective.  
  
Lex finally made a gesture that was part nod and part shrug. "I really need some time to think. Where do we go from here?"  
  
Laura stood up. "I hope you can think in the saddle." Then echoing a comment Lana had made on several occasions since this adventure had begun, she continued. "I am really ready to find the Professor and go home."  
  
Lex nodded and rose to his feet. "Yeah, me, too."  
  
--------------------- To be continued. 


	33. Portal Chapter 33

The Portal  
  
Author: adelacroixhotmail.com  
  
Chapter 33  
  
Lex ran his fingers through his short, stubbly hair as he watched Clark make his way down the hill to the Roman marching camp. Running his fingers through his hair was still a novel experience. When Chloe introduced her 'bots into his body to save his life in the arena twelve days earlier, he never imagined as a side effect they would cure his meteor rock induced baldness. The mirrors available in this time period were significantly inferior to modern glass ones, but were good enough to show him that his new hair was a dark, rich auburn much like he remembered his mother's, rather than the bright reddish-orange it had been before that long ago day in a Smallville cornfield. Would his hair have naturally darkened to this shade if he hadn't lost it in the meteor shower, or was this color more of Chloe's doing? With all of her research at The Torch, she had doubtlessly come across photos of Lex and his mom in younger, happier days. After conversations he had had with her about his relationship with his mom, he wouldn't be surprised if she somehow arranged for his hair to be this shade as a tribute to his mother. Perhaps he would have to ask Chloe or Laura.  
  
It was hard to believe twelve days had passed since the momentous events in Rome: the revelation of Clark's secrets, the loss of the girls by execution in the arena, the experience of the healing powers of Chloe's nanobots, and the discovery Lana's mind had been overwhelmed by Chloe's memories and effectively it was now Chloe's mind which inhabited Lana's body. Lex was having the hardest time dealing with this final event. Lex had known Lana for almost a year, but had recognized his love for her a mere six days before the events in Rome tore everything apart. Now he had already reached the point where he had spent twice as long in close proximity with Laura, the new Lana/Chloe hybrid, than he had spent with Lana. It scared Lex a little that he was already starting to unconsciously think of her as Laura when he saw her. How much longer would it be before his Lana started to feel like nothing more than a dream?  
  
It had been eight days from their arrival in Tolosa to the events in the Roman arena and now another twelve days from Rome to their current position on a hilltop twelve miles south of Caesarodinum, which would in the distant twenty-first century be known as Tours in northwestern France. Twenty days, almost three weeks, since they had been stranded back here in the ancient Roman Empire. To Lex it suddenly felt more like three years than three weeks. If it wasn't for availing himself of Laura's offer to spend a few minutes each day in a virtual reality version of his office back at his castle, he thought he would go crazy. He wasn't sure how Clark was able to hold up without that link to home, but then Clark's girlfriend's mind hadn't been ripped out of her body, so that had to help.  
  
When they had set out from Rome, Chloe had been so confident they would be able to quickly located the Rhine army, which was suppose to be headed south to help with Venta's scheme to overthrow the Roman emperor. Then it was just a matter of grabbing the commanding general, and, if they got lucky, the Professor himself. Between her knowledge of these times, her 'gifts', and Clark's 'gifts', she thought they could turn back the Rhine legions without too much difficulty.  
  
However, as everything back here seemed to turn out, nothing was as fast and easy as they hoped. They spent days loitering south of the Alps waiting for word of the army's route. Eventually, Clark searched north for several hundred miles along each of the three main routes through the mountains. He didn't find a trace of the army or any other large troop movements. They had just decided something must have changed since Chloe had overheard Venta and the General's plans nine months earlier and they were going to have to come up with some other method of locating the Professor and his meteor rocks when word reached them of a large Roman army marching west through northern Gaul.  
  
Since this unexplained movement by a Roman army was the only unusual news they had received and since this army had to have originated in the Rhine area, they decided it was worthy of investigation. Four hard days in the saddle had been necessary to reach this hilltop from their starting point in Verona near both the Adriatic Sea and the future site of Venice. Four long days which made their original dash from Tolosa to Narbo seem like a stroll around Central Park in comparison. Fortunately, Lex and Lana, who had suffered the most from the earlier ride, were now physically better prepared for the long ordeal in the saddle with the addition of Chloe's 'bots. Laura with her active 'bot system had no problems with the trip. Lex with his more passive system found a brief touch by one of the girls every hour was sufficient to crank his body back up to one hundred percent and make the trip tolerable, if not quite enjoyable.  
  
With Clark scouting ahead in his almost magical 'speed' mode, they had arrived unnoticed on this hilltop overlooking the Roman encampment thirty minutes earlier. It was just past noon when they arrived and Chloe had been surprised to see the tents still standing.  
  
After looking over the camp for several minutes, she remarked. "I don't understand it, but they have been camped here for several days."  
  
"How can you tell?" asked Clark.  
  
"Roman armies create a new fortified camp every evening when they are on the move. It slows their daily progress, but it provides a more restful evening for the soldiers when they know they will have a warning and some protection from any surprise night-time attack."  
  
"Like the attack Spartacus led against the first Roman army that tried to quell his slave rebellion?" interjected Lex remembering another arcane bit of trivia, or was it just a made-up scene from the old Kirk Douglas movie?  
  
"Yeah, they never should have let a non-military senator lead an army in the field. His men paid dearly for his mistake. Anyway, as I was saying a Roman army on the march stops about four in the afternoon to erect fortifications and then set up camp. During the march each soldier carries two sharpened ten-foot poles used to create the wall around camp. With three legions like you have here that amounts to fifteen thousand soldiers or about thirty thousand poles for the wall. With a five hundred foot by five hundred foot camp, that works out to eight poles per foot of wall, which together with a quickly dug trench forms a respectable barrier with only a couple of hours work."  
  
"Chloe, how do you know there are three legions down there?" asked Lex.  
  
"The arrangement of the command tents around the central square is the giveaway. See the large green tent on the north side and the slightly smaller brown tents on the other three sides? That is the commanding general's tent and the tents of the commanders of the three individual legions. Each legion has its own tall golden eagle standard erected in front of its commander's tent, but we would have to be a lot closer for me to read it and tell you which specific legions these are."  
  
"You said they have been camped here for several days?"  
  
Chloe looked over at Clark and then pointed towards the nearest wall of the fort. "The poles the soldiers carry are only two to three inches in diameter to not overburden them in addition to their forty pound packs. Oh, that size pole, if you point it outward at a thirty degree angle, is very effective against a cavalry charge, but a stouter wall is always preferred. The poles on this more exposed, nearer wall of the fort have been replaced with timbers cut from the forest. It would take several days to have that much of the wall rebuilt. So either they expected to be here for a few days and the commanders didn't want idle hands creating mischief, or they are expecting trouble."  
  
Clark stood up from where they had all been crouching under the cover of some bushes. "I think trouble is what they are about to get. So the big green tent is where I am most likely to find the general and hopefully the professor?"  
  
Chloe nodded.  
  
"Okay, wait here. I will be back in a few minutes."  
  
Clark's tone said he wasn't going to risk letting any of the others tag along into an enemy camp filled with fifteen thousand soldiers, nanobot enhanced bodies or not. Chloe watched him head off down the hill glad to see the tell-tale bulge under his robe indicating he had at least retrieved her special lead box just in case the professor and his meteor rocks were down there. To the best of her knowledge, Clark had not mentioned to Lex the effect the meteor rocks had on him. If Clark had decided not to tell, she wouldn't say anything either. Since Laura had all of Chloe's memories up to the events in the arena, she also knew about the effect the rocks had on Clark, but Chloe assumed Laura had also respected Clark's wishes.  
  
Clark walked steadily down the hill for a couple hundred feet as though to give the others time for any final objections before shifting into speed mode. He covered the sloping half mile to the bottom of the hill in a couple of seconds before slowing back to a walk. As he cleared the trees at the bottom of the hill and started across the two hundred yard open field leading to the Roman position, he came back into view of the others waiting back at the top.  
  
From their position they watched his steady progress until he paused just short of the shallow eight foot wide trench dug in front of the wall of timbers. They couldn't hear if the Roman soldiers had challenged him or were even aware of him yet. But if the Romans weren't aware of his presence, they soon would be as the others watched the timber wall near Clark start to go down. Starting fifty feet to Clark's left, the timbers fell one after another as if they were being cut off at their bases by some giant invisible weedwacker. Within seconds a hundred feet of the wall was down and the steady thuds of the heavy logs hitting the ground was even audible at the top of the hill.  
  
Lex glanced briefly at Chloe before turning his attention back towards the camp. "It looks like Clark has his heat vision under control. After those first two days out of Rome when I saw massive plumes of smoke from over the hills where you were helping him, I thought he would burn down the whole Italian peninsula before he was done."  
  
"Yeah, I thought so too, for awhile. And it wasn't just the first couple of days. No after that we just moved a couple of ranges of hills further away before starting to practice. It wasn't until the sixth day that he was starting to get the hang of it. The past couple of days his control has been getting pretty good. By yesterday he could light a candle sitting in a bed of dry grass from a distance of two miles without singeing a single blade."  
  
Lex just shook his head. He didn't think he could even see a candle from two miles, let alone dream of lighting it.  
  
----------------  
  
Clark watched as the final timber crashed to the ground; its lower end charred black from his heat vision, but no hint of an open flame as a result of his activities. As he had approached the wall, several guards had shouted challenges, but the noise of the wall coming down should have gotten the attention of everyone at this end of the camp.  
  
The eight foot wide trench which blocked Clark's path was set about ten feet out from where the wall had stood, its primary purpose to break up a massed charge by either cavalry or foot soldiers. However it did little to hinder Clark, as a simple forty foot standing jump, which would have won a medal at the Olympics but barely qualified as a jump by Clark's standards, quickly got him past both the trench and the fallen wall.  
  
As Clark made his way to the center of the camp and the general's tent, several individuals and then small groups of men tried to stop him. But it was like a group of fleas trying to stop a large dog on his way to his dinner bowl. They were an annoying distraction, but nothing more. By the time Clark had easily stopped the sixth group of eight men by ripping away their swords and then tossing the bodies an impossibly long seventy or eighty feet, the large crowd he had attracted started to just follow along at a respectful distance. Not wanting to risk getting out of control, Clark had not been unnecessarily rough with any of his attackers. Though he might have tossed them a long distance, he was always careful to see that they would land on something, like a tent, which would cushion the fall. Not that any of the men following him noticed this; all they saw was how easily he waded through their numbers.  
  
After passing what seemed like countless rows of neatly aligned tents, Clark finally reached the center of the camp with its own scale version of a forum surrounded on four sides by the grand tents of the legion commanders and the general. The large forum could easily hold a thousand men and it was quickly filling to capacity as men jostled to see what was going on.  
  
Clark proceeded across the forum to the general's tent. As he neared it, a man, wearing a breastplate worked with the most brilliant gold leaf Clark had yet seen on this journey, stepped out of the tent flanked by four of the biggest, toughest looking Roman soldiers this side of good, old, dead Venta himself. For a moment Clark thought their long search for the general had finally come to an end, but then realized this leader didn't in the slightest match Chloe's description of Domicius. She had said General Domicius was in his early fifties with steel gray hair and beginnings of the large gut of a man who enjoyed the pleasures of life more than the field of combat. The man now facing Clark was no more than thirty, thirty five tops, and in the peak condition of someone who trained daily with his men.  
  
"Who are you and what do you want?" demanded the man in a tone suggesting he had long experience in command.  
  
Clark thought for a moment about using his real name, but decided to continue the Greek God ploy. His own name would give him no particular advantage, however if rumors of the events in Rome had reached here, perhaps this situation could be handled with the minimum of pain and bloodshed.  
  
With his most powerful tone, Clark responded. "I am Aries. Who are you?"  
  
Clark thought he saw a momentary flicker of recognition on the other man's face before he answered. "I am Pontus Regnum Sinus, commander of the Twelfth Legion. What do you want?"  
  
"Well, Ponty, I have business with General Domicius and, if he is here, Antonius Octavius Carius. Please bring them to me. Now!"  
  
Sinus had heard the rumors of the events in Rome. The wild stories where the God Aries single-handedly destroyed the Praetorian Camp and the Statilus Taurus Stadium. But what were the odds of that God, if he truly had been in Rome, showing up less than two weeks later here, in northern Gaul? This man spoke thickly accented Latin. Not having seen Clark destroy the camp's perimeter wall or witnessed how easily he had handled the soldiers who had tried to stop him, Sinus assumed he was potentially a Druid assassin merely using the convenient story to get close to the General.  
  
"Seize this man," shouted Sinus to the on-looking troops.  
  
Immediately the inner ring of men from the encircling mass drew their swords. At least forty men with swords in hand were arrayed at Clark's back and sides no more than twenty feet away.  
  
Clark merely shook his head and then briefly accelerated up into 'speed' mode. At what felt to him to be a slow leisurely pace, he pivoted around and turned a concentrated beam of his heat vision near the root of each exposed blade burning through the soft iron just above the hilt. After burning through all forty three swords, he turned back to Sinus and dropped back to 'normal' mode.  
  
From Sinus' perspective Clark just appeared to stand there when moments after the swords were drawn, all of the blades glowed white-hot, separated from the handles and clunked to the ground. Shortly after that about a third of the men left with just the handles in their hands let out yelps of pain and dropped the remnants of their swords, the melted roots of the blades slowly fading from orange to red.  
  
Clark glanced over his shoulder and then said to Sinus. "On a beautiful, warm day like this your men should all learn to wrap the hilts in leather to keep from burning their hands."  
  
As the remaining men dropped their now useless sword handles, Clark started to say, "Now if this silliness is over. . .", when suddenly an arrow slammed into his chest. The head of the arrow snagged in his robe holding it in place until Clark reached up and pulled it clear.  
  
Sinus stared at the arrow surprised to see no blood on either it or the robe. As Clark released the arrow, Sinus' eyes tracked it to the ground noticing in his peripheral vision that 'Ares' seemed to blur for a moment. When his eyes tracked back up to his upper body, Sinus realized Ares was holding aloft with his right hand a man holding a bow.  
  
Clark shook the man lightly and then said. "What were you thinking shooting into a crowded area like this? What if you had missed me, you could have hurt or killed one of your own people, even the commander." Then Clark, still with one hand, tossed the archer fifty feet through the air to land on top of the legion commander's tent to his right.  
  
While he had made his dash to grab the archer as a further demonstration of his 'powers' he had taken a quick detour through the general's tent. No general. No professor. However he could feel the lingering traces from meteor rocks; the professor had been in this tent in the past few days. So when he turned back to Sinus, he changed his question.  
  
"Where have Domicius and Carius gone?"  
  
For a moment Sinus was too shocked to speak. This man must be the god Aries. "They have gone . . ." he began before pausing. This man may be a god, but Sinus had served Domicius loyally for five years and Domicius had always looked after him well, even raising him from centurion to commander of the legion after the death of Macrinus. No, Domicius had earned his continuing loyalty. Restarting, he said. "I am sorry; I have sworn not to divulge that information."  
  
Clark looked at the man with respect, but felt disappointment inside. Why couldn't things ever be easy? This man had information he needed, but Clark was not comfortable going beyond a demonstration of his abilities. Deciding Chloe had a lot more experience in this area than he; Clark grabbed up Sinus in his arms and raced out of the camp in 'speed' mode. To the soldiers left standing in the forum, the two men seemed to instantly vanish.  
  
-----------------  
  
Laura, Chloe, and Lex had remained crouched on the hilltop. Unfortunately this left them far enough from the camp to make it difficult to determine what was happening. They could see Clark and the surrounding men make their way to the center of the camp, but beyond that nothing specific.  
  
Suddenly, Clark was behind them, below the ridge line, out of sight of the camp. As he lowered Sinus to his feet, he spoke up to get their attention. "Ahh, guys. . ."  
  
The three turned as one to see Clark standing there maintaining a tight grip on the arm of a Roman officer. "This is Pontus Sinus, commander of the Twelfth Legion. Neither the general or Carius are in the camp, but I think Ponty here knows where they have gone." Clark paused to look at Chloe. "I thought you might be able to persuade him to tell us what he knows."  
  
Chloe looked him over from his sandal encased feet to his curly brown hair. If he had a helmet, it had been lost somewhere along the way. Putting her most evil grin on her face, she walked up to the pair and said to Clark, "Hold him."  
  
In a flash Clark was standing behind him holding both of Sinus' arms twisted behind his back.  
  
Chloe stepped up to Sinus and then drew his own knife from its sheath at his right hip. Holding it up between their faces, she waved the blade back and forth a couple of times before asking, "Where have Domicius and Carius gone?"  
  
Sinus got a twinge in his gut from the expression on this woman's face. He could see in her eyes she had been in this position before and could do what was necessary to get the information she desired. Still, he had given Domicius his oath of loyalty.  
  
"I am sorry. I can not say."  
  
"Perhaps you will be more ready to talk, if I use your own knife to cut off your balls and turn you into a fucking eunuch."  
  
Laura shared a glance with Lex and then spoke up with a grin. "Ahh, Chloe?"  
  
Chloe looked at Laura with a slight hint of annoyance at the interruption. "What?"  
  
"Wouldn't that technically make him a non-fucking eunuch?"  
  
Chloe stared at her for a moment before breaking out into a gut-wrenching laugh. Non-fucking eunuch was too hysterical.  
  
Soon Lex and Laura had joined in the laughter and even Clark had broken into a grin.  
  
Suddenly, before the laughter had completely died away, Chloe slashed out with the knife and tore a deep gash in Sinus' upper arm.  
  
Before the shock of pain had even reached his brain, Sinus watched as the woman used the knife to open a deep cut in her own palm and then quickly slap her bleeding appendage against his own wound.  
  
Chloe stood there for ten seconds with her hand pressed against his arm. Finally, after wiping most of the blood from her healed hand on the side of Sinus' robe, she stepped back.  
  
"Clark go tie him onto your horse, we need to leave now and I want to take him with us for the moment. We'll meet you at the horses as fast as we can get there."  
  
Clark nodded then he and Sinus vanished. Chloe set off down the backside of the hill at a dead run. Laura and Lex had no idea what Chloe had learned that had set her into such a panic, but also followed her at a run.  
  
It took the three of them four minutes to reach the small sheltered clearing where they had hidden the horses. By the time they arrived, Clark had all of the horses saddled and Sinus was securely tied to his mount.  
  
"What is it?" asked Clark as the others raced to a halt.  
  
"Sinus doesn't know why, but the general and the professor were leading their army to Tolosa."  
  
"Tolosa?" asked Lex as he got his breathing under control. "I thought they were going to Rome."  
  
Chloe shrugged. "I can only speculate, but I am guessing they were planning to lead them through the portal to some other time."  
  
"If so, why has the army been sitting here for the past few days?" asked Clark.  
  
"Just over two days ago word of the events, our events, in Rome reached them. The professor and the general must have guessed some of what was going on. The general issued orders for the army to wait here for instructions and then the general, the professor, and a small detachment of cavalry headed south at a gallop."  
  
"South? As in south to Tolosa?" asked Lex.  
  
"That's my hunch. They are cutting their losses and running." Chloe turned more directly towards Clark. "Clark, if the professor beats us back to the portal, we may be stranded here. You need to get there as fast as you can. If the professor hasn't arrived yet, block the entrance to keep him out and then come back for us. If you find him along the way . . . well, I am sure you will figure out what to do."  
  
As she spoke, Chloe had walked over and started digging through her saddlebag. From near the bottom she extracted a roll of parchment and proceeded to unroll it as she turned back to Clark.  
  
Pointing to the map revealed on the inner surface of the scroll, she said. "We are here about ten miles south of Caesarodinum. Stick to the main road until you reach Burdigala. It is about one hundred forty miles and the first 'Tolosa' size city you'll reach. Take the south east road out of Burdigala and it is about another eighty miles to Tolosa." As she handed Clark the map, she continued. "We'll head south along the main road also. I want to put some distance between us and the camp."  
  
As Clark took the map from her, he pulled her into a tight embrace. After a quick kiss on the lips, he looked into her eyes and said, "I'll be back as fast as I can." Then Clark was gone.  
  
"Come on, guys," Chloe said as she quickly turned and grabbed the reins for Sinus' horse before mounting her own.  
  
Laura and Lex followed her in mounting their own horses. Laura pulled up along side Lex as they headed out of the clearing in pursuit of Chloe. "Lex, stick close to me. If we run into trouble, grab my hand."  
  
Lex nodded his agreement then turned his attention to the ride. They were cutting through heavy forest to reach the main road well south of the camp. It would be stupid at this moment to get knocked from his horse by not watching where he was going.  
  
It only took a couple of minutes to reach the spot where Chloe chose to rejoin the main road. Gaining clear, even footing for the horses, Chloe picked up the pace to a full gallop.  
  
The terrain through which the road was passing was getting increasingly rough as it climbed into the hill country. The heavy forest, which would be almost completely cut down for timber during the Middle Ages, loomed gloomily over the road. Off to the right they could hear the roar of the Vienne River as it passed through a section of rapids.  
  
As they raced along the road, as usual for this trip, their luck turned bad. Just as they were passing a spot where a small side trail entered the main road, a large party of Roman cavalry from the encamped army, out on a recon/training exercise, came around a bend in the side trail and caught sight of them. If it had just been the three of them, even at a gallop, there wouldn't have been a problem. But finding the legion's commander bound and in their custody quickly resulted in the cavalry following them in hot pursuit.  
  
They had barely a twenty yard lead when the Romans turned onto the main road, well within the range of the archers among the cavalrymen. As the rain of arrows began, Laura took one in the back. But more critically, Lex's horse also took a hit. As his horse stumbled, Laura swerved hers up next to him. Reaching out, she quickly grabbed Lex's arm.  
  
Suddenly, for a few seconds, it seemed like Lex's mind was disconnected from his body and he was floating in darkness. Then he was back and found himself behind Laura astride her horse, his right hand was gripping her bare upper arm and in his left hand was the bloody arrow he had obviously wrenched free.  
  
'Sorry, Lex,' began Laura through their mind-link. 'I hate to take control of your body without your permission, but at the moment there just wasn't time. Please accept my apology. And . . . if you don't mind, it would best if you let me take control for a little longer to keep us from taking anymore arrow hits. We are going to have enough trouble getting clear riding double, but if we lose this horse, too . . .'  
  
Lex hated to give up control, but knew with her seventeen thousand years of experience and nanobot enhanced reflexes she could probably be a lot more effective than he. 'Okay, but can you let me see what is going on? It is very disconcerting to go into sensory deprivation in the middle of a battle.'  
  
Before he had finished his thought his body started moving without his volition. His body was pivoting around until he found himself facing aft, looking at the charging Roman cavalry. Romans who almost looked close enough to reach out and touch, not that Lex had any control over his hand, arm, or body.  
  
Lex's left hand was gripping the edge of the saddle while Laura's left hand was restraining his right hip. His tenacious grip on the speeding horse should have been the most disconcerting thing he felt, but it wasn't. No, the lack of control of his eyes was the most uncomfortable thing at the moment. He wanted to dart his attention all over the place but his eyes stubbornly looked upward so the horsemen were only visible in his peripheral vision.  
  
Suddenly, one of the arrows came plummeting out of the sky directly towards them. At the last moment he watched as his hand rose up into his field of view and snatched the arrow out of the air. 'Wow,' thought Lex, as he watched his hand catch or deflect three more arrows in rapid succession, 'Catching arrows really is possible and not just a gimmick on the old Kung Fu TV show.'  
  
Lex for the moment had forgotten Laura could hear his thoughts. 'What? You thought I made up that part of my story? Lex, when I was Chloe and now since I have been Laura, I have never lied to you. Okay, sometimes I have not told the whole story, but I have never exaggerated my abilities.'  
  
'Oh, Laura, I understood in my head the arrow catching ability was real. However seeing it done, particularly seeing my own body do it, is much more convincing than simply hearing about it.'  
  
Lex was about to ask about any other abilities she had, which she hadn't yet mentioned, when he heard her mentally say 'Shit' to herself. Obviously, their position must have gotten worse.  
  
'What is it?' he thought to her, as nothing in his field of view had changed. Twenty seven horsemen were still on their tail, but he was still successfully stopping all arrows coming their way.  
  
Without any warning the visual signal reaching his brain abruptly changed. One moment he was seeing out of his eyes and the next he was looking forward along the direction of their travel. He quickly realized he was seeing out of Laura's eyes instead. And what he saw was not good. Definitely not good. The road was turning onto a high arched bridge, crossing the Vienne River where it passed through a deep gorge. Lex could see down at least eighty feet, but couldn't see the bottom. However he could hear the roaring of the water indicating at least severe rapids and maybe even a waterfall.  
  
However, as scary as being on top of a tall narrow bridge riding backwards on a horse at a full gallop was, the horrifying part was seeing Chloe. Whether the cause was an extremely unlucky arrow hit, or simply a small rock or hole in the roadway, one of her horse's front legs had collapsed causing it to pitch forward in a head-over-heels tumble. Chloe had been thrown to ground in front of the horse, and then before she could get herself clear, the eleven hundred pound horse rolled right over the top of her. By the time they had rolled to a stop the horse was just beyond her limp body. Chloe had just started to lift her head when the thrashing, panicking horse delivered several solid kicks to the much smaller one hundred twenty pound girl.  
  
As her head slumped back to the ground Lex knew it was going to take a few seconds for even her nanobot enhanced body to recover from the pummeling she had experienced. A few seconds they didn't have, as Laura reigned in their horse with the Romans only a few yards behind. As one, Laura and Lex slide to the ground on the side of the horse nearest Chloe, and positioned the horse to provide at least a moments shelter.  
  
As time seemed to speed back up to normal, Lex realized he was once again seeing through his own eyes as, with hardly a pause, Laura led him around the side of the horse towards the still mounted Romans. Somehow in the process of dismounting from the horse they had retrieved two swords from scabbards attached to the pommel of the saddle. Now Lex found himself with a sword in his left hand and his right hand firmly grasping Laura's left hand.  
  
Through his mind-link to Laura he could feel the wicked little smile that was gracing her face. 'We need to buy Chloe a few seconds to recover. Shall we show these Romans how to dance?' And with those words Lex felt himself enveloped with music as though a thousand piece orchestra had started to play some frenetic version of 'Swan Lake'. Lex felt the beat of the music penetrate into his soul as they began their dance like a prima ballerina and her companion. Spinning, pivoting, and whirling, Laura was the speed and agility of their team while Lex was the anchor providing the power and the punch.  
  
Unfortunately, this ballet was a true dance of death played with swords and shields rather than ribbons and streamers. At least that's what Lex thought at first until he noticed Laura was not using any 'kill' blows with her or Lex's swords. No, the sharp edges of the blades were only used to block other swords. Once inside the opponent's defensives only the hilt of the sword, the flat side of the blade, or a blow from the foot or knee were used to incapacitate the soldiers.  
  
However the Romans were not limited by the same self-imposed restrictions. They were using every technique at their disposal to win this contest. And against anyone else they would have quickly won with odds of twenty seven against two, and those two forced to always be touching. Even Laura's near perfect reflexes and abilities to predict the opponent's most probable moves in advance couldn't stop all blows from getting through. Several times Lex or Laura received slashing blows to the body or an arm and once Lex even took a solid penetrating stab through his lower back. Each time they continued to fight on and the 'bots healed the damage, but slowly the cumulative damage was taking its toll and it seemed to take the 'bots more and more seconds to return them to one hundred percent.  
  
After sixty seconds, which felt more like twenty minutes, fourteen of the Romans were down on the ground out of the fight when Chloe appeared from behind the shadow of the horse. She had a sword in each hand and let out a war-cry that would have made 'Xena' proud. For an instant everyone seemed frozen by the shout and then by the spectacular way Chloe spun and wove the swords about her body in moves only seen in Chinese martial arts movies through the benefits of under driven cameras and other photographic tricks. However with Chloe it was no trick, but rather the result of her 'bot enhancements and century upon century of practice and practical experience. No hundred men combined had ever been in as many swordfights as she.  
  
Chloe waded into the remaining Romans with an aggressive style no one else could dare match, for who else could take a killing blow and keep right on fighting? As Laura paused for a moment to watch Chloe in action and give their bodies a chance to recover from the latest damage, Lex remarked. 'Wow, she could really teach the martial arts experts a thing or two.'  
  
'I, ahh she, ahh we, oh you know what I mean, we already did. Back during the Hsia dynasty, wow, almost four thousand years ago, I spent a long time in China and accidentally started the whole 'kung fu' tradition. Anyway, time for us to give her a hand and see if we can finish this.'  
  
Working as a team with Chloe, in another thirty seconds only three Romans remained standing. Then as victory seemed to be within their grasp, fresh arrows started raining down on their position. Before Lex was even conscious of what was going on, all four of their swords were up and deflecting the incoming barrage.  
  
Where had all of these archers come from, wondered Lex as he estimated at least two hundred men were arrayed with bows back in the cleared area just before the road entered the bridge. Even if one of the riders had gone back to the main camp for reinforcements, no way would they have arrived this soon. But whether this was another group from the camp out on a recon mission, or something else didn't matter at the moment. No, all that mattered was that two hundred archers were overwhelming their defenses. Even with the perfecting timing the 'bots bestowed on their movements, they weren't fast enough to stop all of the arrows as the bowmen poured in volley after volley.  
  
The immediate area of the bridge where they were standing was being deluged with projectiles. The Roman soldiers they had been so careful not to kill were quickly festooned with hits. Looking more like porcupines than once human bodies, the archers either thought these men were already dead or didn't care and would just chalk up their deaths to 'casualties of war'.  
  
Even with Laura controlling his body and blocking his pain receptors, Lex could still tell when his body staggered from the impact of an arrow to the torso. Within seconds at least five arrows had gotten through the defense Laura was putting up with the sword and hit his body. Chloe moved over and touched one of her legs to his other side so the 'bot system in all of their bodies could network together to maximize the efficiency of their efforts. But he knew the girls were also taking hits.  
  
'Laura,' Lex thought. 'How many more hits can we take and still be functional?'  
  
'Not many,' answered Chloe instead of Laura.  
  
'So, do we surrender?' asked Lex.  
  
'No, if we get separated before you heal from these wounds, you will die. And even if you are healed in time, something might still happen to you. And there's no guarantee how soon Clark will return. We got lucky with Lana and the 'five minute window'. We might not be so lucky again.'  
  
'Then what do we do?' inquired Lex.  
  
At that moment Chloe dropped the sword in her right hand and grabbed Lex's upper arm while Laura pivoted her and his bodies toward the stone railing of the bridge. They each quickly bound one of their arms to Lex's arms with their belts. Then, before Lex could think to react, not that it would have made any difference as he wasn't in control of his body, the three of them launched themselves over the side of the railing.  
  
'Better to die from a fall then risk dying at the hands of the Romans,' thought Laura.  
  
'Hey,' exclaimed Chloe with a mental laugh, as she pulled the arrows from her body before swinging around into a position like a parachutist in freefall. 'It's not the fall that kills you, it is the sudden stop.'  
  
Speaking of sudden stops, Lex watched in horror as the bottom of the canyon seemed to race up towards them. The river at the bottom was a raging torrent, but from their trajectory he knew they were going to hit the hard rock wall at least twenty feet short of the water.  
  
'Ahh, remember when I said I didn't want to go through the battle in sensory deprivation?' began Lex with a panicky tone to his thoughts. 'I think I have changed my mind.'  
  
"No problem, Lex," he heard Laura say as he suddenly found the three of them sitting in their favorite booth at the Talon. On the table were three steaming mugs of coffee. As Lex picked up his cup he was a little dismayed to see how badly his hands were shaking.  
  
After taking a quick shallow of the burning liquid, he carefully set the cup back down. "I don't suppose I could get something a little stronger?"  
  
Laura put her hand on top of his. "Lex, everything is going to be okay. The first fifty times you die are the hardest. Well, hundred times. Anyway, the current will sweep our bodies downstream. We'll stay in the water for a few miles until we are well clear of these Romans and then we'll get back on our way towards Tolosa."  
  
Lex took a deep breathe to calm himself. Laura was right. She, or rather Chloe, had been through situations like this before. He remembered a brief fragment of one of her memories he had received back at the arena in Rome, a memory of her diving off of the top of the battlements of some castle. A dive from a height at least three or four times greater than the one they were currently experiencing. And he remembered how within a minute she was up and swimming away.  
  
Lex turned to Chloe and gave her a hint of a smile indicating he was back in control. "I recall this memory from you of a time you were in a similar situation."  
  
Chloe read his surface thoughts and smiled. "Ahh, the good old days with the crusaders in Acre. After I escaped that night I ended up doing an extended stay in a harem at . . ."  
  
Abruptly, Chloe not only stopped talking, but completely vanished from view. As Lex rapidly swung his head around, he noticed the whole Talon briefly became almost translucent before firming back up. His gaze quickly settled on Laura.  
  
"What just happened? Where is Chloe?" Lex hated to hear the slight hint of shrillness creeping back into his voice.  
  
"Lex," Laura said speaking quickly. "I have never tried to shoot rapids before while trying to maintain three people in a link. Chloe's binding to your arm got shredded back a ways and when she hit a large rock in the stream; she finally lost her grip on your hand. Lex, my binding is also gone. I have my arms wrapped around you, but if something goes wrong, you better be prepared to take back control of your body at a moment's notice."  
  
"Maybe you should just give me control back now," suggested Lex.  
  
"No, it's best we wait as long as possible. At the moment we have been trapped underwater by the current for four minutes and twenty three seconds. I doubt you could have held your breath this long, but with the nanobots active, we can stay under almost indefinitely. Well, my personal record is a little over two hours, so close enough."  
  
Lex was trying to image being able to hold his breath for two hours when suddenly his thoughts were interrupted.  
  
"Shit," exclaimed Laura. "Ahh, Lex, we are about to go over a waterfall and it is almost certain when we hit the bottom I am going to lose my grip. All of your wounds from the arrows, the swordfight, and the fall are healed and you are physically as close to one hundred percent as I can make you. If we get separated, I will try to get back to you as soon as possible."  
  
Lex nodded. He had barely gotten over the shock of falling off of the bridge and readjusted to finding himself in the Talon. Now he tried to mentally prepare himself for suddenly being under water.  
  
Laura reached out and clasped his hand. "Here we go. Get ready. Three. Two. One."  
  
Bang. Lex was alone and in the water. What he hadn't thought about on this warm late spring day was how cold the water would be. Fed by the spring melt, the water was incredibly, unbelievably cold.  
  
Fortunately, Lex was holding his breath and he was able to take a moment to try and orient himself. He quickly cradled his head in his arms as he realized this waterfall didn't end in a calm, tranquil pool. No, it dumped directly into the next section of rapids and he was madly careening off giant boulders and the hard bottom of the channel, as any sand would have long since been swept away by the speeding current.  
  
After a long thirty seconds, when his lungs were seriously beginning to scream, he final broke the surface long enough to get some air and his bearings. Ten yards further downstream he had a quick glimpse of a white robe, but he couldn't tell if it was Laura or Chloe. At the moment, being buffeted around by the intense current, ten yards might as well be a mile. He could only hope whoever it was would be caught briefly in an eddy so he might catch up.  
  
For the next couple of minutes he kept getting glimpses of the white robe, until finally the current twisted them just right so he could make out the dark hair. Laura even briefly managed to raise her hand for a moment so he would know she was alright.  
  
Intellectually, he knew she must be alright, but it warmed his heart to have concrete proof. And at the moment he needed any extra warmth he could get as his teeth were chattering violently. Now it was urgent to get out of the water as, in five more minutes, he was going to be in serious trouble.  
  
After a couple more minutes of pounding rapids, they found what they needed: a short section where the river widened significantly which dramatically slowed the current. They were still at the bottom of a deep gorge, but one side of the canyon wall opened up with a twenty foot long by fifteen foot deep shelf located a couple feet above the waterline. The randomness of the rapids had dumped Lex into the slow section much closer to the shelf than it had Laura. Lex was tempted to swim over and help her, but between the battering from the rocks and the intense cold he was very near the end of his endurance. With her active 'bots, Laura would certainly be in better shape at this moment than he was, so Lex turned and swam for the shore.  
  
It was an extreme struggle for him to get up and over the vertical two foot lip of the ledge as one of his calf muscles cramped up hard just as he reached the edge. He had barely flopped down on his stomach when Laura reached the edge. He reached his hand over the side with no real hope to pull her up, but merely to use his deadweight to give her better leverage for her own climb out.  
  
Within two seconds of Laura's grabbing his forearm and before she had even pulled herself out, Lex's cramp was gone and some of his strength was returning. In the end, he was able to help from his prone position to pull her out of the water. As she crawled up on the ledge, Lex rolled to his back and Laura ended up lying on his chest with his arms wrapped around her.  
  
"God," murmured Lex as he tightened his grip and turned it into a hug. "I am so glad you are okay."  
  
Laura's long dark hair hung down around his face. The water dripping on his face suddenly didn't feel as cold. Slowly, Laura lowered her head until her lips brushed against his. "Silly boy, it takes more than rapids and a little cold water to hurt me."  
  
Lex raised his head just enough to turn the brushing of their lips into a light, tender kiss. "I know, but I still can't help worrying about you."  
  
As he spoke, Laura was running the fingers of one hand through his new found hair.  
  
"Mmm, that feels nice," Lex whispered before he was silenced by Laura's mouth once more covering his own.  
  
After a few short seconds, Laura pulled back and then started to rise. "We have about twenty minutes before this little cove goes into shadow. Let's get out of these wet clothes so they can dry and we can warm up."  
  
As Laura stripped out of her soaking tunic and then languidly stretched for a moment, Lex hesitated. Laura looked at him and then cocked her head in a very Chloe-like manner. "What's the problem, Lex? You didn't seem to have any problem getting naked that first day by the pool in the Professor's canyon."  
  
Lex shrugged as he started to remove his own robe. He knew he would feel a lot warmer once the damp, frigid garment was off. "I didn't know you girls very well back then and getting naked just seemed like a lark. But knowing you now, it is somehow different."  
  
"Lex, look at me," Laura said in a tone which fell only a little short of a command. When he raised his gaze from where he had been half-heartily pretending to look for Chloe, she continued. "It's really about Lana, isn't it?"  
  
Lex stared into her eyes for a couple of seconds before returning his attention to the river. "Yeah, in some ways I miss her so much. But more and more when I look at you my first thought is not 'Lana', but 'Laura'. It is still the same body standing there, but at the moment it is you I feel an attraction to and in a strange way it almost feels like I am cheating on her. This situation is so unique, it is difficult to understand, let alone describe what I am feeling."  
  
Laura sat down beside him and intertwined her fingers with his. "Lex, would it be okay if I use the mind-link? Perhaps it will clarify things for both of us."  
  
Lex was silent for a few seconds and then he quietly said, "Okay."  
  
For ten seconds they sat there soaking up the warmth of the sun looking to the outside world like a pair of living statues as feeling and emotions were shared.  
  
Abruptly, Laura stood and started waving. "There's Chloe," she needlessly added.  
  
Lex stood and joined her in waving and shouting. After a few seconds Chloe waved to acknowledge she had seen them and started to stroke in their direction.  
  
Chloe was only about fifteen feet from the bank when Lex heard a shout from above. Standing at the top of the vertical cliff almost one hundred feet above the cove, someone was shouting. With the sun at his back it was difficult to tell who it was until the person leaped over the side. It could only be Clark.  
  
As Lex watched, it somehow seemed like Clark was descending at a slightly slower rate than was right for someone in freefall. But Lex shrugged it off as a trick of the lighting or the angle of the cliff walls as Clark landed beside him as easily as if he had merely stepped down from a chair rather than having jumped down a hundred feet.  
  
Clark arrived just in time to pull Chloe from the water as she reached the edge. With one quick smooth motion of his right hand he propelled her out of the water and swung her around to land lightly beside him. He quickly pulled her into a hug.  
  
"I am so glad I found you, all of you. When I got back and found all of these soldiers peering down into the river and the top of the bridge covered with arrows and dead bodies, I knew something bad had happened. I had to dangle four men over the side of the bridge before I found one who would explain what had happened."  
  
As Clark finished speaking, Chloe pulled away for a minute to strip off her own sodden tunic. She quickly flowed back into his arms to use his body heat to warm up a little. As a shiver ran through her, the fact she and the others were freezing finally penetrated through the despair which had partial numbed Clark's mind and senses. He quickly used his heat vision to warm the nearby rock walls and then superheated enough river water to fill the cove with steam like some exotic Swedish sauna.  
  
Chloe was just starting to enjoy this unexpected luxury when she finally caught the expression on Clark's face. Wrapping her fingers about his and squeezing tightly, she asked, "Clark, what is it? What's wrong?"  
  
When Clark realized Lex and Laura had also turned and were watching him, he grimaced. "I was too late. The professor had already gone through the portal."  
  
"Did he leave the meteor rocks behind?" asked Lex quickly.  
  
"Yeah, but they are not going to do us much good. After he was gone, several of his followers worked over the equipment with the equivalent of sledgehammers."  
  
Lex had known since the minute they were certain they were really back in ancient Rome it was a strong possibility they would be trapped here forever, but he wasn't ready to admit to it quite yet. "You mean we're stuck here? No, there must be something we can do. Perhaps if we all work on it we can get the Professor's equipment working again. We have to try."  
  
Clark shook his head and when he responded they could all hear the finality and despair in his voice. "Lex, all of the circuit boards are shattered into a million pieces. Even if the world's best stocked Radio Shack were to magically appear, I don't think we would ever get that equipment working again."  
  
A chill ran through them which the steam Clark had provided could suddenly no longer alleviate. For the next couple of minutes they all stood there lost in their own thoughts.  
  
Finally, as the steam evaporated and their chill started to change from mental to real, Chloe spoke up with an unexpected quiver in her voice and a glistening in her eyes like she was about to cry. "Lex, a portal can still be open from the other end, even if the equipment at this end is destroyed, right?"  
  
Lex shrugged. "Sure, or the Professor wouldn't have been able to get here to set up his equipment in the first place. But we could wait for years in that room without a portal opening. I mean no one except the Professor knows where to look for us."  
  
Abruptly, the implication of what Chloe had said and the hitch in her voice sunk home for Lex. "No, Chloe. There has to be another way."  
  
Clark looked at her and saw the steady stream of tears running down her face. He hadn't yet figured out what Lex and she were talking about, but he knew immediately in his heart she had already made some life altering decision.  
  
"Lex, you know it is the only way."  
  
Clark looked from Lex to Chloe and back. Finally dreading the answer before the question was even asked, he said, "Lex, what are you guys talking about?"  
  
Lex just stood there blinking rapidly, as though he was fighting to hold back his own tears. In the end it was Chloe who answered.  
  
"Clark, the only person who knows where we are to open a portal home is me." Trying to put a brave face on, she gave him a weak smile. "I have to go back the long way to get the rest of you home."  
  
"The long way?" Clark echoed, as her meaning felt like it was on the tip of his tongue, but needed one more small nudge to sink in and become real.  
  
"I have to live through the next two thousand years all over again so I can be in the Professor's lab sometime after we go through to use the machine to open another portal to here."  
  
Clark stood there staring at her as his mind raced in circles. If only he had been faster, he could have caught the Professor before he escaped through the Portal and destroyed the machine. If only he hadn't played the 'Greek God' game, the Professor might not have been scared off and they could have found him. Also, if he hadn't played the 'Greek God' game, perhaps the girls wouldn't have ended up at the arena and Lana would still be in possession of her body. Hell, if only he and his accursed meteor rocks had never shown up on earth, his friends would never have been stuck back here period. As always, Clark tried to shoulder all of the blame himself.  
  
"Clark, Clark. It is going to be okay," said Chloe as she pulled him into a hug.  
  
Clark hugged her back for a minute before stepping back and wiping at his own eyes. "At least we have a few days until we get back to Tolosa."  
  
Chloe looked at him with a sad expression on her face and then shook her head. "No. If we put it off until then, we will just keep finding excuses to keep putting it off until years will end up going by. No, if I am successful at getting back to our time and getting use of the machine, this time and place is locked into my nanobot memory just as well as the Professor's secret facility in Tolosa." She paused and looked around the small cove. Then pointing at the back wall, she said. "A portal should open back there right about now."  
  
As she said 'Now', she snapped her fingers. At that exact moment they all saw the meteor rock green colored doorway waver into existence.  
  
Looking at the portal as it solidified and knowing home for the others was a mere five steps away, Chloe tried to make light of her situation. "I always did have the flair for the dramatic."  
  
Laura, who had been silent ever since her mind-link with Lex about his feelings for Lana and her, spoke up. "Chloe, I could keep you company on your trip the long way."  
  
Chloe looked at her with a grateful expression on her face for the offer, but after a few seconds shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but it has only been twelve days since you got your 'bots. There is no way of knowing yet if your exposure to the meteor rocks will permanently leave the 'bots active. I would hate to have you waste twenty or thirty years of your life back here before finding out. No, I am going to have to do this one alone."  
  
Laura nodded and then ran over pulling Chloe into a hug. For several seconds their faces went blank which usually meant they were using the mind- link to communicate. As they separated, Chloe squeezed Laura's hand and gave her a cryptic nod of the head.  
  
Laura walked over towards the portal and called out to Lex. "Come on, let's go on through and give them a moment alone."  
  
Lex looked from Laura to Chloe. Something had just passed between the girls and he had a strong feeling it was related to him. Ever since their mind-link, he had noticed Laura had been unusually quiet. What had she seen in his soul and what things had she set in motion?  
  
Stepping over to Chloe, Lex pulled her into a quick hug. Quietly, he whispered 'Thank you' into her ear, but he wasn't certain if it was just for the way home or also something else.  
  
Chloe hugged him back. Releasing him, she watched him walk over to Laura. Lex was about to step through the portal when he seemed to realize for the first time in minutes that their robes were still stretched out on the rocks to dry and three of the four of them were still nude. With a sheepish expression, he quickly grabbed two of the damp robes. After they were dressed, Lex followed Laura through the portal.  
  
Alone with Clark, Chloe stepped back up to him and snuggled into the warm embrace of his powerful arms. After a couple of seconds she lifted her head from his chest and tilted it back. In an instant their lips met in a final slow kiss. The tears she had managed to suppress for the past couple of minutes welled up again. God, how she was going to miss him.  
  
After a minute of indelibly imprinting the moment in her memory with special quadruple redundancy, she slowly pulled back. Taking Clark's hand, she led him over to the entrance to the portal.  
  
"Clark, when you step through the portal it will only be a few seconds until you see me again. For me, it is going to be almost two thousand years. At sixteen, you can't possible imagine how long that is. Please try and keep it in mind, if I seem a little shy or hesitant at first."  
  
Clark tried to imagine two thousand years and realized she was right, it was beyond his comprehension. It had only been three weeks since he had seen his parents or Pete and it had been almost more than he could bear. Even a year or two was almost more than he could imagine. And more than just this separation being two thousand years in the past for Chloe, how would two thousand more years of life change her?  
  
"Chloe, couldn't you just step through the portal with me?"  
  
"You know I can't. We have no idea what a time paradox like that might do. Maybe the whole universe would end. I just don't know, but the consequences seem too big to risk."  
  
Clark nodded. After running his fingers briefly through the tangles in her hair from the time in the river, he leaned down for one last quick kiss.  
  
Pulling away, Clark stepped up to the portal. Before walking through, he turned back one last time. "Remember, when I step through the other side, it will only be eight days until the spring formal. I expect you to be ready."  
  
Chloe gave him the faintest hint of a smile and a small wave. She saw the tears glistening in his eyes as he turned and stepped through the portal.  
  
She stood there for thirty seconds watching the green light gradually fade before slowly backing away until her back hit the far granite wall of the cove. With this support against her back, all of the strength seemed to leave her legs and she abruptly sagged to the ground. Then the dam broke and all the tears she had been doing her best to hold back came flooding forth.  
  
Why was she always destined to be alone? After seventeen thousand years she had finally found the one person who seemed like her equal, someone to share all the joys and heartaches of being different than everyone else. And then mere weeks after finally connecting with him, they were torn apart for thousands of years. Life just wasn't fair. Was this the price she would always be forced to pay for living hundreds of times her allotted three score and ten?  
  
For a long time Chloe sat that rocking and crying. Eventually, the tears ran out and she merely sat there and rocked. After thirty minutes she finally became aware enough of her surroundings to notice the whole cove was in shade and she was getting cold sitting there naked. Slowly she worked up the energy to stand up and walk over to where her robe still lay. Slipping it on, a sharp shock passed through her as the cold damp material touched her skin. The shock was what she needed to break up the world of self-pity she had fallen into.  
  
Squaring her shoulders, she started working on the list of tasks she needed to accomplish. So much to do and only one thousand nine hundred sixty four years, eleven months, and seventeen days to get it all done. Time to get moving.  
  
With the proper mindset in place, she determined the easiest route out of the cove and started the long climb back to the heights.  
  
To be continued. 


	34. Portal Chapter 34 Epilogue

The Portal  
  
Author: duane at duaneaakre.com  
  
Chapter 34 - Epilogue  
  
Lex and Laura stepped through the portal and back into Professor Carey's lab in the Physics Building at Metropolis University. Being back in modern times, Lex suddenly felt conspicuous wearing a filthy Roman robe, a robe with numerous cuts and slashes and many bloodstains, mostly his own. In the past hour he had suffered six arrow hits, one sword thrust through the back, and too many cuts and bruises to count. Laura's robe didn't look any better.  
  
The first thing Lex noticed was how empty the lab was. When they had passed through the portal at the start of this whole adventure the lab had at least three techs and five grad students. Now the lab had only one occupant, a dark haired girl sitting at a computer terminal with her back to them.  
  
The second thing Lex noticed was the dark windows. They had left at about three in the afternoon, but now it was obviously night.  
  
Lex was about to clear his throat to get the girl's attention when she called in Chloe's voice. "Hey, Lex, Laura, I will be with you in just a second."  
  
After punching a few more keys, she swiveled her chair around, stood, and ran over to greet them; stopping about five feet away and giving Laura a single conspiratorial nod. If Lex hadn't heard her voice, he never would have recognized her. Chloe had gone for the complete Goth look: pitch black hair to the middle of her back, black lipstick and heavy eyeliner, pale white makeup, five piercings in her right eyebrow and three in her left, low-slung black jeans, and a tight cropped black tee that very obviously wasn't hiding any conservative brassiere. And for the coup de maitre, behind a pair of black horn-rim glasses she wore a pair of black & white swirl contact lenses usually only seen at Halloween. These contacts had an almost hypnotic ability of preventing your eyes from taking in the rest of her face. All in all, her appearance was almost as far as possible from the look of the old Chloe Sullivan of Smallville.  
  
"Chloe is that really you?" asked Lex, as something about her 'look' tickled at his memory.  
  
Chloe flashed him one of her big grins that somehow seemed completely out of place with her current look. And then it hit him.  
  
"Your, your, my god, your Denise Webber!" Lex stammered.  
  
Laura looked from Lex to Chloe and back. "Who?"  
  
"About four years ago, LuthorCorp hired her as a consultant to organize the overhaul of the twenty separate computer systems the corporation was using into a single networked system. I remember one time, when I was home from college, walking in on a meeting between you and my father. You didn't have the whole Goth thing back then, but I remember the dark hair and how you wore the obviously fake violet colored contacts."  
  
Chloe could see the wheels turning in Lex's head as he realized she probably had hooks into every computer file in the company and probably even in his private computers at the castle.  
  
"See Lex, it is like this. I first selected Gabe to be my foster father because I was looking to live in Metropolis. So imagine my surprise when a few months after I started living with him, he got transferred to Smallville. For a few days I was angry and pissed off, but eventually I just went with the flow and ended up there.  
  
"Well, to close the time loop, I had to ensure Gabe was transferred to Smallville so the earlier me would be in the proper place to end up going back in time. I suppose I could have just hacked the LuthorCorp computers to cause the transfer to happen, but being on the inside seemed best to make sure nothing went wrong."  
  
Lex was busy thinking about the time and cost it would take to rework the computers from the current Mac/Unix configuration to a Windows based system to remove her influences. Suddenly, it was like Chloe could read his mind and she wasn't even touching him. Perhaps the time they had been in the mind-links back in Rome had given her a lot of insight in how his brain worked.  
  
"Lex, how about a quick round of Final Jeopardy? And be sure your response is in the form of a question. And the answer is 'Bill Gate's High School Sweetheart'."  
  
Lex had a perplexed look on his face like things were suddenly moving too fast. Finally, it was Laura who answered. "Ahh, who is Chloe Sullivan?"  
  
Chloe smiled. "Close enough, although my name during that period of the 1970's was Carol Saunders."  
  
Even though she had guessed the right answer, it was apparent from the look on her face, Laura didn't understand the significance.  
  
"Laura, I am going to take a wild guess, but I would say Lex was just thinking about the cost of converting the LuthorCorp computers over to Windows to remove any access I might have. I just wanted to drive home that he is going to have to trust me. With perfect recall of everything that happened during the first time I lived through the last two thousand years, this time when I lived through the years all over again, I used my knowledge to ensure everything that needed to happen to close the time loop, did happen. And if I just happened to stick my fingers into most of the major technology companies along the way, well, a girl has to look out for herself."  
  
Turning to more directly face Lex, she continued. "Lex, I have no intention of meddling with your company. Once this time loop is closed, I want to simply go back to my life in Smallville. For you this all seems to have started three weeks ago, but for me it has been almost two thousand years, two thousand long years of planning to get today's events to play out in the required sequence. Now I just want to go back to the simple life in Smallville for a while and think about things like seeing Gabe again, getting 'The Torch' out on time, dealing with the occasional meteor freak, and most of all, spending some quality time with Clark."  
  
Chloe had several other important things on her agenda for the near future, but since they involved Lex, but not LuthorCorp, she didn't feel she was breaking her word by not mentioning them for the moment.  
  
"I'm sure you would like to get out of those robes and back into some civilized clothes." Chloe turned and pointed to several garment bags sitting by the door out of the lab. "I have a change of clothes for you in those bags. Please put on everything you find. The restrooms are down the hallway to the right. Sorry, there isn't a shower, but at the moment we are on a fairly tight schedule."  
  
Laura couldn't help but notice how Chloe's nipples had gotten hard at the mention of Clark's name. Obviously, she wanted a little time alone with him at his return.  
  
"Come on, Lex." Said Laura as she grabbed his hand and headed towards the door.  
  
The door had barely swung shut behind them when Clark staggered out of the portal and collapsed to the floor on his back. Chloe rushed over and knelt down beside him knowing he would recover his strength in just a few seconds. Stroking his forehead, she said, "Clark, I am so glad to see you."  
  
As the incredible pain in his body slowly receded, Clark lay on the floor enjoying her caress and remembering her comments from a few seconds earlier on the far side of the portal; how for her this reunion would be happening after a two thousand year wait and how like everyone after a long separation, she might be a little hesitant about his reaction.  
  
To allay any potential fears she might have in this regard, without even opening his eyes Clark reached up with his right hand and pulled her down into an intense, powerful kiss. Within seconds, Chloe found herself stretched out on top of Clark returning the kiss with all of the fervor two thousand years of anticipation could bestow.  
  
After a three minute long kiss by two people who could hold their breathe almost indefinitely, Chloe finally broke the kiss and pull back a couple of inches. Before he opened his eyes, Clark asked, "So have you picked out the dress yet?"  
  
Chloe instantly knew he was talking about the spring formal and suddenly, in some ways, it felt like the two thousand year interval had evaporated. After another quick kiss she responded, "Yeah, Clark. Remember the pale green gown I wore to the Circus Maximus? I had a replica made especially for the dance."  
  
Clark grinned. "You don't think it is a little racy for Smallville . . ." And at that point in his response he finally opened his eyes and got his first look at the current Chloe. "Holy shit. What happened to you?"  
  
Chloe giggled and shook her long black hair. "Do you like? I am in disguise. I am a part-time grad student. I have been working with the Professor for the past couple of years on the portal device and I couldn't risk anyone who knows Chloe accidentally recognizing me."  
  
"Hmm, why does it suddenly feel like my girlfriend is the real-life version of that chick from 'Alias'? It would be a lot of fun seeing you with a bunch of different styles, but so far, I would have to say I still like blonde the best."  
  
"Well, then back to blonde it will be for awhile. Which is just as well, I don't want to give Gabe or any of the other denizens of Smallville a heart attack."  
  
Chloe had just leaned back down for another kiss when the door of the lab opened and the others returned. Lex coughed quietly to warn them of their return.  
  
Chloe stood up and reached a hand down to help Clark to his feet. Once he was up, Clark glanced over at Lex and Laura and then down at himself. "Wow, I suddenly feel way underdressed."  
  
His robe wasn't the disaster Lex and Laura's had been, but it was still many steps below their current attire. Lex was wearing a pair of dark gray, Italian cut slacks, a black blazer, white shirt, and a dark maroon tie. Laura was similarly dressed in conservative, quasi-business attire: a light gray skirt which extend slightly below her knees, a white blouse, and a black blazer in a similar style to Lex's.  
  
"Chloe, I appreciate having something better to wear than that battered robe, but this seems a little dressier than is necessary for this time of night," said Lex. "Oh, by the way, exactly why did you decide to retrieve us at 3:15 AM?"  
  
"I think you are going to have to trust me about the clothes for the moment, but I think you will be glad for my choice. Oh, and speaking of time, here," and Chloe reached into her back pocket, pulled out a watch, and handed it to Lex. "The jewelers had to work on it a long time to get it working again and I had to replace the band, but I thought you would appreciate getting it back."  
  
Lex looked down at the watch in his hand and realized it was the antique watch made from the old coin his mother had given him shortly before her death. He had been wearing it the day they had gone through the portal and he had been forced to bury it along with all of their 21st century clothes in the woods outside of Tolosa. He had thought he would never see it again and it was the gift from his mother he most cherished.  
  
Lex looked back at Chloe with the tiniest of sheens in his eyes and catch in his voice. "Thanks, this means a lot to me."  
  
Chloe gave a small nod that she understood what he meant and that was why she had gone to the bother to retrieve it. Then she turned to Clark.  
  
"Clark, I need to talk to Lex and Laura for a few minutes. There is a bag of clothes for you, too, over by the door. The restrooms are down the hallway to the right. When you are changed, I will meet you out in the hall."  
  
Clark was curious about what she needed to discuss with the others, but he trusted her and was anxious to get back into real clothes. "Okay, see you in a couple."  
  
After Clark had left the room, Chloe walked over and clasped Laura's hand. This was the first physical contact they had made since Lex and Laura had come through the portal. Lex watched as once again they shared the 'thousand mile stare' he had seen so often before, which always indicated they were experiencing a level of communication only the mind-link could provide.  
  
Unlike other times where they were almost frozen like statues, this time he noticed big, fat tears starting to roll down Laura's cheeks. Just when he became concerned to the point where he was going to walk over and touch them to see if he could join the link and find out what was going on, the girls blinked and stepped apart. Both of them reached up to wipe at their faces and Lex realized tears were also forming in Chloe's eyes.  
  
Suddenly, Chloe asked. "Are you really certain?" When Laura nodded, Chloe walked over to a desk and retrieved a small black box with a single white button on top, strangely located under a clear, protective cover like the big red 'launch all nukes' buttons in bad sci-fi movies. After handing the device to Laura, Chloe gave her a big hug before walking out of the room and carefully closing the door behind her.  
  
Lex had no idea what was going on, but for some reason wasn't surprised when Laura said in a small voice with the tears still streaming down her face. "Lex, could you hold me for a minute?"  
  
Lex quietly and gently wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight reassuring embrace. Through the mind-link he asked, 'What's wrong? What is that box?'  
  
Laura hadn't meant to tell him, but under the stress of what she was about to do, her thoughts leaked out through the link to Lex.  
  
Lex was appalled when he understood what she intended to do. 'Laura, no. There has to be another way.'  
  
'No, Lex,' she answered with a small mental shake of her head. 'We both know as long as my memories are in this 'bot system, there is no way Lana can ever come back.  
  
'Lex, from the moment you shared your thoughts back by the river, I have understood how important Lana is to you. That's why, before I stepped through the portal I asked Chloe to find some way to purge the memory units in all of the 'bots in Lana's body. It is the only way Lana has a chance to come back. I have had a good, long seventeen thousand year ride, but this is Lana's body and she deserves the chance for the ride, too.'  
  
'Only a chance?' asked Lex, as what Laura was saying from her perspective really sank home. To her it was the same as committing suicide to give Lana a chance to have her life back. 'What if it doesn't work and I lose both of you?' And as he said the words he realized how important Laura had become to him over the past couple of weeks. How they had shared secrets as was only possible through the mind-link. How they had fought battles together. How the time they had spent in the virtual reality version of his office or the Talon seemed like the only thing that kept him from going crazy during their prolonged stay the Roman Empire. Lex couldn't imagine going through life without Lana, but he wasn't certain if he could survive without Laura either.  
  
'Laura, there has to be another way.'  
  
Laura broke the mind-link and whispered in Lex's ear. "Lex, a part of me will always be in Chloe. Forgive me."  
  
Laura turned her head until her lips were pressed against Lex's, and then she pressed the button.  
  
Lex tried to will her to stay in the 'bot system through the power of his kiss, but felt her body give one small jerk, heard the box clatter to the floor, and knew in his heart she was gone.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Lex had only a moment to experience the shock of Laura's abrupt departure before the body in his arms suddenly thrust him away. When he opened his eyes, he saw her terror-filled eyes darting frantically around the room without any comprehension of where she was or perhaps even who she was. Slowly she backed up until she reached the wall and then sank down until her arms were wrapped tightly about her knees.  
  
Afraid of how she might respond if he tried to approach her, Lex quietly called out. "Lana, it's me, Lex. Lex. Do you understand? You're safe now. We are back in Metropolis."  
  
At first she gave no response, but Lex kept repeating the message over and over in his best, most soothing tones. Gradually, over the next couple of minutes he could see she was calming a little. Carefully and very slowly he started to inch his way towards her. Finally, after five minutes he was kneeling on the floor only eight inches from her.  
  
Cautiously he reached out and rested his left hand on her right hand. "Lana, it's me. Everything is going to be alright."  
  
He had fully expected her to jerk away again, but this time at his touch the faintest hint of recognition was visible in her eyes. "Lex," she whispered. "Is it really you?"  
  
"Yeah, Lana, it is really me. You're safe now. We're home."  
  
"Venta hurt me so bad, Lex. Then I watched them kill Chloe. It was so awful, the sound the spears made when they struck home," she whispered. "Then they turned to me and I felt the spear rip through my body."  
  
"Lana, Chloe is fine. You are fine. And Venta is dead," Lex said as he moved his right hand up to stroke her hair. After only an instant's reflection he decided this probably wasn't the right time to tell her that she, well at least her body, was the one who killed Venta. "Chloe is waiting out in the hall for whenever you are ready to see her."  
  
"Chloe is really okay? I saw her die." Suddenly she pulled her hand away from his and ran it up and down her body. "I was dead, too."  
  
"Yeah, Lana, you died, but remember Chloe's nanobots? She was able to heal herself and you, even after you had died."  
  
Lana's voice was slowly getting stronger and steadier. "I was really dead and Chloe brought me back?"  
  
"Yeah, honey. She has been an endless source of surprises. Lana, do you think you can stand? I think it will help if you move around a little and then we can go see Chloe."  
  
"Okay," was all she said, so Lex helped lift her to her feet. Once she was standing it was like she noticed him for the first time.  
  
"Lex, where did you get the hair?" she asked as she carefully reached up to touch it, as though it was another part of the dream or nightmare she was stuck in.  
  
Lex had to grin. Perhaps his hair was going to be a benefit after all, if it helped her to think about something besides the events in the arena. "Oh, I was hurt a little along the way, too. Chloe healed my injuries and as a side effect my baldness seems to have been cured."  
  
Lana continued to stroke his hair for a minute before letting her hand slip down to idly caress his silk tie. "Your hair is a lot longer than a five o'clock shadow. How long has it been since, since, ahh, since I died?"  
  
"Almost two weeks," answered Lex. He was glad to see Lana was coming around, but he wasn't sure she, or he for that matter, was ready to deal with the subject of Laura. "It was an extreme shock to your system and you are just now coming out of it."  
  
Lana nodded, but didn't say anything. She just stood there lost in her thoughts. Lex decided it was best to keeping moving forward and not let her dwell too much on the recent past.  
  
"Lana, do you want to go see Chloe now?"  
  
She gave a small shrug as though she didn't really care one way or the other.  
  
Intertwining his fingers with hers, Lex led her out into the hall where he found Chloe and Clark quietly talking. Lex was a little surprised to see Clark also was dressed in a shirt and tie, something that was extremely rare. Chloe had removed her Goth makeup and eyebrow rings and was in a dressier pair of slacks and blouse, but still was wearing the glasses and the very distracting contacts. Lex knew something formal must be about to happen, but between Laura and Lana; he hadn't been able to spare even a moment to guess what it was.  
  
Lex decided Chloe must have clued Clark into what was happening in the lab because Clark's reaction to seeing Lana was much more subdued than when he first saw her alive after the events at the arena. Clark let Chloe led him over to where Lex and Lana were standing and it was Chloe who first pulled Lana into a hug.  
  
"How are you doing?" Chloe asked.  
  
Lana gave a small smile. "Okay, I guess, although everything feels almost like a dream."  
  
"Perhaps a little fresh air would help. Let's go outside, it is a beautiful night," suggested Chloe gesturing towards the flight of stairs that led down to the main floor and the exit.  
  
Lex was a little surprised how brusquely Chloe was trying to get them out of the building. She had mentioned earlier they were on a tight schedule, but he could not imagine why the rush was so necessary with Lana still in such a fragile state. Still, Lex had only been back for barely fifteen minutes and wasn't certain what Chloe's true situation was here. Was the Professor about to show up at any moment with a squad of mafia goons?  
  
Chloe quickly led them outside and set off at a brisk pace across the central mall around which all of the old nineteen thirties WPA-era buildings, including the Physics building, were arrayed. After a moment Lex noticed how the uniform quasi-Greek styling reminded him of ancient Roman. At least until you noticed how the numerous electric streetlights completely lit up the fronts of the buildings, the walkways, and even some of the trees.  
  
After they had walked about fifty yards, Lex had to find out what was going on. Back in ancient Rome, he had forced himself to take the backseat since Chloe was the expert. But here he was very much back on his home ground and it was time to understand what the situation was in case things went awry and he needed to take action.  
  
"Chloe, why did you bring us back at three in the morning? Why are you getting us clear of the physics building in such a rush?"  
  
Chloe looked back at the Physics building as if judging their distance and then with an almost imperceptible nod to herself, she ground to a halt.  
  
"A couple of reasons, Lex. First, I needed to wait until after everyone on the project had cleared out for the day. Then I needed to use the portal to complete a couple of other tasks. I wanted to get them out of the way first, so I could spend the rest of my time with you guys after you came through."  
  
"Ahh, what other tasks?" asked Clark, before Lex had a chance to ask the same question.  
  
"Well, after you went through the portal, I spent a good portion of the next couple of years tracking down everyone else from the twenty-first century who was still back in ancient Rome. No point in leaving a bunch of scholars and archeologists stranded back there just because they happened to be caught in the middle of events between us and the Professor. After I located each group I just opened a portal for them similar to the one you used. However on this end it seemed better to bring them through first, so they would be out of the way when you came through."  
  
"You said there were a couple of reasons," prompted Lex.  
  
"Yeah," said Chloe as she reached into her shoulder bag. When she pulled her hand out, she was holding another small black box, not unlike the one which had wiped Laura from the 'bot memory system. "The other main reason for bring you back at this time was because the building is mostly empty, so it was easier to clear the stragglers out."  
  
Then Chloe lifted the box, pointed it in the direction of the building, and pushed the button. Instantly, they saw, then felt, and finally heard the massive explosion that occurred on the north side of the Physics Building. It was centered on the second floor, right where the portal device was located.  
  
They watched for several seconds as secondary explosions ripped through the night. Just as they were starting to see open flames through the shattered windows, Chloe resumed her explanation. "Way too many people know about the Professor's device. After all of the decades of planning and hard work it took to close the accidental time loop we started back in Rome, I don't want to go through that again. So the Professor's time machine had to go."  
  
Chloe turned towards Lex. "Oh, and Lex? Since it was LuthorCorp's research into the meteor rocks that led to this whole mess, I expect LuthorCorp to split the cost with me for constructing a new Physics building."  
  
Lex nodded numbly as he stared at the destruction Chloe had wrought. From the moment the portal doorway had opened for them back along the river, Lex had spent a lot of time thinking of all the uses he could make of a device like the portal machine. Now, with the push of a button, Chloe had taken all of that away.  
  
As they heard sirens in the distance, it was like Chloe could once more read Lex's thoughts. "Come on, guys. I have one more surprise for you, a pleasant one this time. I think it will more than make up for the loss of the Professor's machine." Then Chloe turned and continued on across the mall in the direction they had originally been heading.  
  
After she had set the course, Chloe slowed down until she was walking along side of Lex on the opposite side from where he had a supportive arm wrapped around Lana. After a moment she reached out and lightly touched Lex's hand.  
  
Abruptly, and totally unexpectedly, Lex found himself back sitting in the same booth in the Talon as during the frightening trip through the rapids. Had that really been less than an hour ago, wondered Lex, as already the whole Roman adventure was taking on a surreal dream-like quality. Then he realized, also like before, Laura and Chloe were sitting across from him. Laura? Even though she might look identical to Lana, Lex instantly knew it was Laura.  
  
"Laura, how is this possible? I mean, ahh, you're gone," said Lex in confusion.  
  
Laura smiled. "I am mostly gone. Perhaps it would be better if you called me Obi-wan Laura. Like in the Star Wars movies. The earlier good ones. Well, good except for the stupid Ewoks. What was George thinking when he put them in. When he released the special edition versions into the theaters a few years ago, I was so hoping he would find a way to get rid of them."  
  
Laura sheepishly shook her head. "Sorry, got a little sidetracked there. What I meant to say is I am sort of like Obi-wan in the second and third movies, no longer fully alive, yet not quite dead either. Mostly just reduced to make sage comments. Well, Obi-wan was into the sage remarks, I don't think I am quite in that same league." For a moment she scrunched up her face and then said in a voice which sounded a lot like Alec Guinness, "Nooo, Lexxxx, there iiiissss annoootherrrr!" Then she broke into a raucous laugh.  
  
While Laura was getting herself back under control, Chloe explained. "Lex, after Laura explained what she wanted to do before she went through the portal, I spent the next two thousand years trying to find a solution that would meet her wishes without also permanently eliminating, okay killing, her. However this is the best solution I could come up with and it is not as satisfactory as I would have hoped. Right before the end, I downloaded a complete copy of her memories into my system. After spending more years than I like to admit, I found a way to partition off part of my memory system to act sort of independently. Enough anyway to keep her personality separate from mine. The downside is she can only manifest herself in this virtual reality way."  
  
Having got herself back under control, Laura interjected. "Well, being stuck in virtual reality is still better than the oblivion I had resigned myself to. At least now there is always at least a small hope of someday being able to return to the real world."  
  
Then turning more directly to Lex, she asked with just a hint of pleading in her tone. "Lex, could you come visit me once in a while? Chloe has said she wouldn't mind helping in this way. And I already miss talking to you so much."  
  
Lex was so happy at Laura's survival; all he could do was nodded.  
  
"I hate to break this up so soon," said Chloe. "But we have almost reached our destination and I need Lex back in the real world. Oh, one quick question, Lex. Have you tried a mind-link with Lana?"  
  
Lex shook his head. "No, I thought it was best to wait. She is having a hard enough time coping for now; I didn't want to add another whole level of issues for her to deal with."  
  
Chloe nodded. "I agree. Let's give her a little time to recover before we push too many new things at her. I just hope the little 'surprise' that's coming up will push her in the right direction, not the wrong direction."  
  
"Chloe, just what is this 'surprise'?"  
  
Chloe just grinned and then she dissolved away leaving just Lex and Laura sitting at the table.  
  
"Laura, do you know what it is?"  
  
"Yeah, fortunately Chloe shared most of her memories when we made the transfer and I can see and hear everything Chloe chooses to let me, which is most of the time. Anyway, all I'll say is 'It is something wonderful'."  
  
Then Laura reached her hand over to touch Lex's. "Lex, I am glad for the time we had to spend together and I am glad it looks like Lana is going to be okay."  
  
"Thanks for what you did to let Lana have her life back. If I was in your place, I don't know if I would have had the strength to do what you did."  
  
Laura shrugged a little with embarrassment. "I spent a large portion of my life as a self-centered bitch just doing things for my own pleasure. It is nice to have confirmation I can, once and a while, do the right thing." Then sensing their time was really at an end for the present, she concluded, "Lex, please do come visit me, again."  
  
Abruptly, Lex found himself back in his body. Before taking in his real surroundings, he pondered for a moment whether it was really cheating, if you fantasized about a girl who only existed in virtual reality AND who looked exactly like your girl friend.  
  
When Lex did take in his surroundings, he discovered they were just reaching the entrance to the Journalism Building. Outside the front door of the building a man was loitering. With only the briefest glance, Lex recognized the look of a plain-clothes security operative. As they walked up the front steps, the man nodded to Chloe and pulled open the front door, obviously he worked for her. How many other people on campus tonight were working for her, he wondered. At least a few more to ensure no 'stragglers' were still in the physics building when the lab blew up.  
  
They headed down a side corridor to the left until they reached the entrance to a room labeled 'Staff Lounge'. Another security guard waited outside this door. Chloe paused for a minute to straighten Lex's tie and adjust Lana's blouse. When she was satisfied the pair of them looked presentable, she turned to the guard.  
  
"Okay, Mike, let us in."  
  
The guard nodded, pulled out a chain of keys, and unlocked the door. Pulling the door open just a little, he nodded to Chloe and then resumed his station beside the door.  
  
Chloe pulled the door the rest of the way open and then gestured for Lex and Lana to proceed in.  
  
Lex felt a flutter of anticipation in his stomach as he tried to imagine what was in this room to cause Chloe and Laura to act in such an atypical manner. Taking a deep breathe, Lex stepped into the room with Lana by his side.  
  
Three people were sitting in the room as Lex entered. An auburn haired woman in her mid-thirties sat on one couch and a younger, mid-twenties couple with matching dark hair sat together on the other coach. The three of them were just starting to stand when Lex's attention shot back to the first woman.  
  
A hoarse "Mom?" was all that got out of Lex's mouth as he momentarily froze in shock. When a familiar smile spread across the nodding head with the suddenly tear-filled eyes, Lex knew it was her. He couldn't begin to understand how, but his mother, who had died a slow, lingering death nine years earlier, was standing in front of him looking vibrantly alive.  
  
And then it was like he was no longer frozen in time and before he even realized he could move, he found himself racing across the room at a pace that almost seemed to match Clark's super speed. Reaching her, he swept her up into his arms and spun her around before exclaiming in a much stronger voice, "Mom!"  
  
Lana had stopped moving shortly after crossing the threshold into the room. She took in the other occupants without any recognition until Lex raced across the room and almost shouted the word, Mom. Then she turned her attention back to the young couple hesitating across the way.  
  
Lana had only been three years old when her parents were killed in the meteor shower that would change the lives and destinies of so many residents of Smallville. Too young to have any clear, direct memories of them, she mostly remembered their faces from the small framed photo always kept on the nightstand beside her bed. It was the image from that photo she talked to during her nocturnal visits to her parents in the cemetery. Her parents. The photo. These people were dressed exactly the same: the man in brown corduroys, blue work shirt, and a battered old Smallville High letterman jacket; the woman in a light blue dress and red sweater.  
  
Once more an exclamation of 'Mom' from Lex reverberated around the room and then Lana's brain, long muddled by the effect of Chloe's memories in Lana's new-found 'bot system, finally cleared. In an almost childlike voice she exclaimed, "Mommy, Daddy!" In the end, her parents met her halfway and they all joined in a joyous group hug.  
  
At the first shout of 'Mom' from Lex, Chloe and Clark stepped into the room and pulled the door closed behind them. As Chloe wrapped an arm around Clark's waist, he leaned over and quietly whispered, "Is it really them?"  
  
Chloe looked up and behind the glasses and the contacts; he could see her eyes filling with tears. "Yeah, it really is."  
  
"How is that possible?"  
  
Chloe smiled, "Let's give them a couple of minutes, and I will explain for everyone."  
  
As Clark watched a level of joy and happiness appear in Lex's face that he had never seen before, Clark leaned over and whispered in Chloe's ear. "I don't know if I have said this in a while, but baby, you rock."  
  
After a minute of soaking in the miracle of suddenly finding his mother alive, Lex knew that to make everything perfect, he had to introduce Lana to his Mom. Never in his wildest imagination had he believed this moment would ever happen, but he had fantasized about it a lot since it had first come up in conversation with Chloe on the deck of a sailing ship outside the Ostian harbor in long ago Rome.  
  
Taking his mother's hand, Lex led her over to where Lana was still hugging and touching and laughing and crying with her parents.  
  
"Lana?"  
  
When she turned to look at him he saw his Lana was back, not just the haunted shell who had first returned back in the portal lab.  
  
"Lana, I wanted to introduce my Mom, Lillian."  
  
As Lex had started to talk, Lana had unconsciously slid her left hand into Lex's right.  
  
"Mom, this is my girlfriend, Lana."  
  
Lana politely, cautiously extended her right hand, but Lillian would have none of that and quickly pulled Lana into a tight hug and whispered into her ear. "I am so happy to meet you. I knew the instant I saw the pair of you walk through the door how right you are for each other."  
  
When Lillian broke the embrace, Lana put her hand back in Lex's and said, "Lex, I want you to meet my Mom and Dad, Laura and Lewis."  
  
Lewis stepped forward and pulled Lex into a bear hug. He pounded Lex so hard on the back in his excitement, Lex was almost afraid he was going to have to get Chloe to heal him.  
  
When he finally released Lex, Laura stepped up for a quick, gentler embrace. As he stood there with his arms around her, Lex couldn't help but think for a moment about another girl named Laura. But then he focused his attention on the woman in his arms, a woman who looked more like Lana's older sister than her mom. Then he realized if she was the same age as when she died, she might be only twenty-four or twenty-five compared to Lana's sixteen. One more unique situation they would have to learn to deal with.  
  
After an exchange of pleasantries, Lex called over for Clark and Chloe to join them. As he watched them approach and noticed how Clark looked a little uncomfortable in his suit and tie, Lex's realized the clothes were all for his own benefit. Chloe had obviously learned enough from their conversations and mind-links back in Rome to understand how he was most comfortable when he felt in control and that a suit was part of his comfort zone, too.  
  
When they arrived, Lex made the introductions. "Mom, Mr. and Mrs. Lang, I guess you already know Chloe. The guy with her is my best friend, Clark."  
  
As Clark shook hands with the others, Lex realized how much better his life was now than twelve hours ago by the clock on the wall. Twelve hours. To anyone who hadn't gone on the journey with them, all of this had happened in a short twelve hour interval. Clark and he were so much closer even if you excluded Clark's secret. But the secret was now out there and the trust that secret entailed. Lex knew he would do anything to protect Clark's secret and help him with the quest for his past as well. And then there was Chloe who he had barely known before this adventure and her big secret, too. After the mind-links they had shared, he knew she also fell into the category of best friend. And then Lana, the biggest, most important discovery on this trip. Real best friends and a wonderful girlfriend, it suddenly struck him how empty and unsatisfying his life had been a mere twelve hours ago.  
  
With the introductions past and not wanting to drift into some maudlin state, Lex asked the question which had been burning inside of him since the moment he recognized his mother. "Chloe, how?"  
  
"Actually, Lex, Laura is the one you want to thank, it was her idea."  
  
As she made this comment Lex thought for a second he could almost see Laura looking out at him through Chloe's psychedelic eyes.  
  
However Chloe was watching Lana and saw her look at her mom with a perplexed expression on her face.  
  
"Lana, not your mom, another Laura that Lex and I know. She is not important right now and Lex or I can explain about her later."  
  
Turning back to Lex, Chloe continued with a small lift of her shoulders as if to say it wasn't a big deal and she had been happy to do it. "With access to a time machine and two thousand years to come up with the optimum method, it was difficult, but not impossible."  
  
"From a technical standpoint, your Mom was the easiest. I knew from the research I had done on you when you first arrived in Smallville the exact day she would die. So I arranged for your Mom's regular in-home nurse to be out sick that day and I took her place. Then it was just a matter of hustling you out of the room before the 'five minute window' was up. Once I had cured her body, my future self opened a portal into your Mom's bedroom and I pushed her through. Then it was just a matter of covering up the missing body. It is a sad commentary on our times, but that kind of a problem is easily handled if you throw enough money at it."  
  
Lex suddenly understood what Chloe was saying; his Mom now had a 'bot system in her body just like his. Once Lana came to terms with her 'gifts' and learned to control them, she or Chloe could tune up any injuries in his Mom just like they had done for him over the past couple of weeks.  
  
As Lex contemplated the long, health life his mother could now anticipate, Chloe continued her story about the rescue of their parents.  
  
"Retrieving Lana's parents was a much more challenging proposition. They had been seen by a street full of people only an instant before the meteor hit. And after the meteor hit, no way was I going to be able to pick up all of the small pieces and put them back together in five minutes. So the only solution was to pull them out in the last, tiniest fraction of a second before the meteor hit.  
  
"I have been very afraid of screwing up the timeline by letting someone from my old past recognize me, so this time around I have only been in Smallville one time in the last fifty years."  
  
Here Chloe paused her story for a moment and looked up at Clark. "Clark, you don't know how hard it has been the past few years, to know I could hop in a car and be in Smallville in a couple of hours and see you. Even if 'seeing you' meant being parked in a dark car and watching you walk from the Talon to your pickup some evening."  
  
With a shake of her head, Chloe tried to get back to her explanation. Clark was here now and all those hard, lonely days were in the past.  
  
"Anyway, that one time I returned to Smallville was on the day of the meteor shower. No one ever pays much attention to city workers; therefore I had a whole crew of surveyors working on Main Street. Of course, our equipment was highly modified with high speed video cameras jury-rigged to atomic clocks to record the exact position of Lana's parents and the exact time of the meteor hit."  
  
"Then it was just a matter of figuring out how to create a moving portal instead of the typical stationary ones. Once I had figured that out, it was a straight-forward task to sweep a portal across their position about eight milliseconds ahead of the meteor."  
  
Lex shook his head at how easy she made it sound, when he knew she must have committed a major amount of time and effort on the problem. Chloe had certainly been busy in the twelve hours since they had gone downtime to Rome. Retrieving the stranded scientists. Retrieving his Mom. Retrieving Lana's parents. Rigging the lab with explosives.  
  
"Thank you, Chloe. You can't imagine how much Lana and I appreciate what you did."  
  
"You're welcome, Lex. Do you remember the conversation we shared in the coach just after we saw all of the crucified bodies along the road? I had a lot of time over the next few centuries to think about what you said about how people with great gifts and abilities should use them to help mankind. And I have tried to implement some of those things into my own life. Not that I could do too much that was obvious in the past without risking the timeline, but now that we are past the time-loop, I plan to be more aggressive in trying to do good things like this first step of rescuing your parents."  
  
Lex looked at Chloe and suddenly was struck by how much she had grown since they had parted back on the other side of the portal. The old Chloe had outlived so many countless generations of friends and family members that she had in some ways divorced herself from the human race. Oh, she went through the motions of living, but even she had admitted she hadn't had children in a very long time. Whether it was connecting with Clark and his equally unique gifts, or perhaps even a little bit her discussions with himself, somewhere during their stay in Rome some missing fire in her had been rekindled. Lex was glad he wasn't the only one whose life had been changed for the better by their experience.  
  
While Lex was lost in his thoughts, Lana asked the question that had been bothering her. "Chloe, won't bringing our parents here mess up the timeline?" After a quick apologetic look at her parents, she quietly added, "They were dead."  
  
Chloe smiled and shook her head. "No, time doesn't care as long as you move them forward. Actually, as far as time is concerned, this isn't any different than a Walt Disney popsicle."  
  
"Walt Disney popsicle?" Lana repeated, having no clue what a popsicle at Disneyworld had to do with bring people back from the dead.  
  
"Surely you must remember the urban legend about Walt Disney's body being frozen after he died? Or the hundreds of other people who have had their bodies frozen hoping they could be brought back after a cure was discovered for whatever killed them? Although I always thought the unfreezing part would be more challenging than the actual curing of the illness."  
  
At this point Lex interrupted. "Chloe, if the person was frozen within five minutes of death, do you think you could cure them?"  
  
Chloe looked at him for a moment as she thought. "I don't know, Lex. I never thought about it before. To a certain extent I depend on quickly restarting the circulatory system to spread the 'bots through the body. If you could unfreeze the body fast enough, I might be able to get the 'bots deployed quick enough to undo the damage. Why, Lex? Do you know where Walt's body is hidden?"  
  
"Who, me?" Grinned Lex. Then he feed back a line she had once used on him. "No, the only body I know about is Jimmy Hoffa."  
  
Chloe laughed as she still seemed to be the only one besides Lex who got the joke.  
  
Turning back to Lana, she said. "Sorry about getting sidetracked. Anyway if someone did figure out how to revive those people, some of whom have been 'dead' for twenty years, it would be big news for a while, but the universe wouldn't implode or anything. And it will be the same for your parents."  
  
"So, we are just going to tell people we snatched them from death with a time machine?" asked Lana.  
  
"Well, no, that probably wouldn't be a good idea. The time machine should probably be kept a secret for the present, just like other things need to be keep just between us." Chloe answered with a meaningful glance from Clark, to Lex, and back to Lana, clearly meaning Clark's secret and her own secret which now also involved Lana, Lex, and Lex's mother.  
  
"Then how do we explain their sudden return?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sure you will think of something."  
  
"Like what?" asked Lana her concern about the question becoming more pronounced.  
  
"I brought them here, so I have done my part. The rest is up to you and Lex." Then Chloe added in a kidding tone. "Unless you want me to return them to where I got them?"  
  
Lana's eyes widened in alarm until Lex squeezed her hand and jumped back into the conversation. "Lana, she's just kidding. Don't worry, we'll figure something out. If necessary, we'll move somewhere no one has ever of us or our parents."  
  
"Never heard of Lex Luthor?" gibed Lana as she calmed back down. "Where would that be, Timbuktu?"  
  
"Well, I think with a little effort we can come up with a better solution than that." Then for a moment Lex got the famous 'evil Luthor' grin. "Besides, I want to see the expression on my father's face when Mom first walks into the room."  
  
"Now, Lex," said Lillian in a tone that was both scolding and mischievous. "You and your father aren't still feuding after all of these years?"  
  
Lex had a sheepish expression on his face when he gave a small shrug.  
  
"Men, you can leave them alone for a minute. It looks like the Luthor household is in for a serious attitude adjustment."  
  
The 'evil Luthor' grin reappeared briefly on Lex's face. No one intimidate Lionel Luthor. Not captains of industry. Not Presidents or Prime Ministers. No one except Lillian Luthor. Oh, life was going to be so interesting.  
  
"Ah, Chloe, whatever happened to the Professor? Did he come back earlier today? Is he still a potential threat out there somewhere?" asked Clark.  
  
"Hmm, it seems some lowly grad student assistant made a small error in the computer code controlling the destinations programmed in from the setup in Tolosa," Chloe said with a wink. "If you instructed the portal to return you to the University Lab after 4 P.M. today it instead sends you to the island you see in the opening footage of Gilligan's Island, only a thousand years ago." Chloe grinned even further. "It completely slipped my mind until you mentioned it. I hope he likes coconuts."  
  
At this comment, all four of those present who had suffered the trials of being stranded in ancient Rome started to laugh. It felt good knowing the Professor was sharing the unpleasant feelings of being stranded with little hope of ever seeing home.  
  
Somewhere during this conversation they had all slumped down onto the three broken down, but surprisingly comfortable couches this room had to offer. Now Chloe stood up and pulled Clark to his feet.  
  
"Clark, I am sure Lex and Lana have a lot of catching up they wanted to do," Chloe said as she ran her hand up his impossibly strong arm. "And I have a little catching up I want to do, too."  
  
Turning to Lex, she said. "Lex, Mike, who is waiting outside, has a limo for you. Whenever you are ready, he will run you all over to your penthouse."  
  
After Lex nodded, Chloe turned to leave, but then stopped and turned back. "Oh, in all of the excitement I almost forgot the latest toy I wanted to give you."  
  
She walked over to the nearest table, set down her shoulder bag, and pulled out a slim, ornate wooden box about one and a half inches thick by six inches long and four inches wide. Opening the box exposed six silver tubes about the same size and shape as a good Cuban cigar. Each of tubes was almost like a small work of art without any immediately obvious function. As part of the decorative engraving, each recipient's first name was included in a fancy floral script.  
  
"Fresh from one of my electronic companies in the Netherlands, this is the latest in cell phone technology, all voice activated and this time the voice recognition really works. These will be hitting the street in about six months."  
  
Lana turned hers over in her hand. "Ahh, Chloe. I would have guessed you would have gone more the 'Star Trek' communicator badge route."  
  
"Oh, that's next year's model," responded Chloe brightly. "No, actually, the cool part about these is the display."  
  
Chloe pulled her own out of the pocket of her slacks and demonstrated. "See this recess button turns on the voice activation system." She pressed her button and said, "Call Lex."  
  
Immediately, Lex's phone started to vibrate. Once he answered, she showed them the other recessed button. At a touch, a thin film screen rolled out of the tube like the unrolling of a scroll until an eight inch wide by five inch tall screen appeared on which a high quality video signal of Lex appeared. Once Lex had deployed his screen, he had a matching real-time photo of Chloe.  
  
"Of course, you can also surf the 'net with these, but I thought with all of our tangles with meteor freaks, well sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words."  
  
Clark, being a techno-geek wannabe, asked. "It must take a lot of bandwidth for this quality of video."  
  
"Yeah," grinned Chloe. "Fortunately, for some reason the cell phone company chose the Metropolis to Smallville corridor as their first test market."  
  
Lex had slid the screen of his phone in and out several times and then turned it over in his hand several times. "Ahh, Chloe. A couple of questions. The screen seems to take up most of the interior space, where are the batteries? Also, I don't see where you plug in the charger."  
  
"Well, Lex, the power system is a byproduct of some the nanotechnology research I needed as part of the design for the portal device. The nanotech battery has an energy storage density about twenty five times that of the traditional lithium batteries, so the case of the tube itself is the battery and provides significantly more power in a smaller total volume. Additionally, we came up with an inductance charging system so the phone will trickle charge any time it is near an active electrical device. If you set it next to your electric clock at night, that is sufficient to keep it charged. If you head off into the boondocks, or someplace like ancient Rome, a full charge is good for about a month of active use. Oh, and if you are outside the range of a cell tower system, they have a walkie-talkie mode with a range of about five miles."  
  
"They certainly would have been handy back in Rome," remarked Clark.  
  
Lex had been thinking about the earlier part of Chloe's remark. "Chloe when you say it's a byproduct of your research for the portal device, what exactly do you mean?"  
  
"Come on, Lex. Who do you really think was responsible for development of the portal device? A professor at a university which is, at best, on the second tier for overall science schools? A professor who loved to play the horses and who barely made tenure?" And here she paused to take a big, sweeping bow. "Or his stunningly beautiful grad student who just happens to have the equivalent of about four billion Cray supercomputers in her body?"  
  
Lex shook his head in disappointment with himself. It should have been obvious when she stayed behind back in Rome that ultimately she would be the one to develop the device.  
  
Chloe shook her own head. "As Spock would say, 'It is fascinating how time- loops work'. If I hadn't gone back through time, I never would have believed it was possible. But knowing it was possible, I was forced to do it, so I could send myself back through it and start the whole loop over again."  
  
Lana looked at her in surprise. Chloe had never shown much interest in science back at school. "You designed the portal device?"  
  
Chloe shook her head. "Not by myself. More people than you can imagine were involved. Remember the Manhattan Project during World War II? Oh, that's right; none of you were alive then. Well, the Manhattan Project was the effort by the United States government to design and build an atomic bomb. Only, maybe, two hundred people knew the true goal of the project, yet at its peak the project was absorbing almost ten percent of the industrial output of the entire country.  
  
"The portal device is at least ten times as challenging as the development of the atomic bomb. Fortunately, I had a much greater time scale in which to work than the four years they had to build the bomb. The theoretical work actually started almost one hundred and twenty years ago. My 'bot system is unmatched for pure number-crunching or looking for patterns in massive quantities of data, but for pure theory I am not much better than the average man on the street. So, it was a matter of finding the right people with brains 'wired' for theory and then point them in the right direction. In the end, five new branches of physics theory were developed by the people I got started.  
  
"Once the theory was out of the way, new materials, power systems, and computers were needed. Lex, haven't you ever wondered why Moore's Law has followed such a smooth curve for the past forty years. I mean having processor power double exactly every eighteen months, year in and year out. It amazes me sometimes that the conspiracy nuts never caught on that there has been an outside force governing the progress all of these years."  
  
"Wait a second, Chloe. Are you saying you are the driving force behind Moore's Law?" exclaimed Lex.  
  
"Guilty as charged. Fortunately, since the spread of e-mail and internet science forums it has become a lot less time consuming to drop hints in the right ears to ensure the progress I needed to have the portal device ready on time."  
  
More and more light bulbs were going off in Lex's head. "So the three million dollars a year I spend to fund the Professor. . ."  
  
"I am afraid it was window dressing, Lex. The actual budget is hard to quantify as it is buried in R&D budgets of high tech companies all over the globe, but a rough guess would be about three hundred billion dollars a year in the past decade. Of course, the spin-off technologies have covered most of these expenses."  
  
Lex found the economic scale involved with the project he had always assumed was almost a 'garage' operation fascinating, but he had come to know Chloe well enough to recognize from the way she was fidgeting that she really wanted to get out of here with Clark. Plus, he could tell everyone else was starting to get bored and were just indulging him out of politeness.  
  
"Chloe, maybe you and I could continue this conversation at a later time."  
  
Chloe shot him a grateful smile. "Yeah, that would be fine. Well, it has been about a seventy two hour day for me and I am ready to crash. How about we see you back in Smallville? Just to refresh your memories, it is late Friday night, or early Saturday morning depending on your point of view. Lana, we do still have school on Monday and there are some things you and I need to discuss before then. How about you stop over at my house Sunday evening about seven thirty?"  
  
When Lana nodded, Chloe grabbed Clark's hand and headed for the door. At the door she paused and turned back one last time.  
  
"Oh, and Lex? In case you have forgotten, your father is in Rome doing a deal to acquire an Italian chemical company." Chloe gave Lex a quick wink. "I am confident he won't be back to Metropolis until at least Tuesday."  
  
Before they could make a clean getaway, Lana ran over and gave Chloe one final hug. "Chloe, thank you, thank you, thank you. This has been the best gift anyone has ever given me."  
  
Chloe looked Lana in the eye. "Just seeing the look on your face right now has more than made up for the effort. Now, go, get to know your parents."  
  
Then with a grin and a wave, she and Clark were gone out the door.  
  
------------------------------------------  
  
Clark pulled Chloe in tight as they exited the building. As Chloe pointed them in a direction away from all of the still on-going excitement by the Physics Building, Clark said. "That was a wonderful thing you did for them, Chloe. I have never seen Lex or Lana as happy as they are right now."  
  
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I was hoping for the best, but I think it turned out even better than I expected." Then she looked up and caught his gaze before continuing. "Clark, I wanted to do a nice big surprise for you, too, but I am afraid yours is still a 'work in progress'."  
  
Clark ground to a halt and pulled Chloe into a tight embrace. "Tell me."  
  
"Well, for some mysterious reason, both NORAD's and NASA's deep space tracking radars sent their output to some unknown destination on the day before and the day of the meteor shower. They are still scratching their heads how both systems could screw up simultaneously."  
  
"Meaning?"  
  
"Meaning I decided I had more interest in that data then they did and it was also probably safer in my hands."  
  
Clark's heart started pounding a little faster. "Was there any useful data?"  
  
"Yeah, I tracked the final six hours of the approach of the cloud of meteor rocks and, I presume, your ship. Although either the ship has some stealth features or the radar just didn't have sufficient resolution to distinguish your ship from the larger chunks of meteor rock.  
  
"Anyway, when I backtracked the trajectory of the meteor rocks far enough, they intersect with a red giant star that went supernova one hundred and eighty seven years ago. So I am guessing the rocks and probably your ship originated there."  
  
"One hundred eighty seven years? How could I have spent that long in the spaceship and still have been only three years old when it arrived on earth?"  
  
"We don't have the technology, but if you accelerated the spaceship up to 99.999996% of the speed of light you achieve a time dilation effect where only eight hours appears to pass for someone in the ship while one hundred eighty seven years passes from the perspective of anyone on the outside. A fairly simple application of some of Einstein's earliest work. As for the meteor rocks, I assume they somehow got sucked up into whatever energy field was used to motivate the ship."  
  
While Chloe was giving her college Physics 101 explanations, the rest of what she said hit home with Clark.  
  
Clark's shoulders sagged as he said. "You said the star went nova. That means my people really are gone and I am alone."  
  
To get his attention focused back on her, Chloe said sharply. "CLARK. Clark think for a moment. Lana's parents and Lex's Mom were gone too. Time Machine, remember?"  
  
Clark's spirit lifted for a moment before crashing back to the ground. "But you just blew it up."  
  
Chloe grinned at him. "I blew up that time machine because it was in too open an area. Plus it is inconveniently far from Smallville."  
  
Then what she said clicked for Clark. "You have another machine!"  
  
"Well, with a couple more months of work, I will have another working machine. The first of the fusion generators was brought online last week."  
  
"Fusion generators? Like your own nuclear power?"  
  
"Yeah, it is going to take some very significant power to punch open a wormhole across almost two hundred light years. Fortunately these generators are more like the next stage of advancement. Current nuclear reactors use the same atomic principles as the uranium bomb used at Hiroshima. Mine use principles more akin to hydrogen bombs, much higher energy yields and less of the annoying radiation."  
  
"I thought they were still twenty or thirty years from a practical fusion power plant."  
  
"Clark, fusion power is a much simpler project than the portal device. No new theory is even needed, just better engineering. It could be in general use now if the government was willing to commit to a Manhattan Project type approach."  
  
"Chloe, the scale of the facility you are talking about sounds pretty large. Where around Smallville is it? I don't remember anything like that."  
  
Chloe grinned. "Hmmm, I had to put it somewhere you wouldn't stumble on it and screw up the timeline. Where around Smallville have you been least likely to go since getting your X-ray vision, or even before that?"  
  
Clark thought about it for a few seconds before responding. "Creekside Foundry. Where I fought with Greg Arkin. It has the highest concentration of the meteor rocks in the whole county."  
  
"Bingo. Give yourself a cookie."  
  
"But if you have been building a big facility there, someone would have noticed and talked."  
  
"You forget Clark; I am 'plan ahead' girl. The facility was built below the foundry when it was first constructed back in the late 1880's. Everyone involved has been dead for over fifty years. We have had to bring a lot of the equipment in during the past year, but since I already knew when the 'meteor freak of the week' would have you and the sheriff's department occupied, it was pretty easy to escape notice."  
  
"Amazing, simply amazing Chloe. I am looking forward to seeing this facility."  
  
"It is pretty cool in an anachronistic sort of way. I mean it is about to be the most high tech scientific research facility on the planet, but on the inside the facility looks like something straight out of Jules Verne with plush red leather seating and wall coverings, dark mahogany wood, and lots of black iron and riveted truss support structures. Very Victorian, but sort of the 'mad scientist' look that I like."  
  
Clark could almost picture Chloe captaining Jules Verne's 'Nautilus' from one of the old British movies.  
  
"So, in two months we could be on our way to look for my parents?"  
  
"Hmm, the portal device should be ready for some test runs by then, but we might want to start with something a little less ambitious. Plus I would like to study your ship before we go for any additional clues. I mean, if the meteor rocks are from the same place as you, why do they have such an incapacitating effect on you? They must be plentiful back in your home world, but people seemed to have prospered there enough to build your spaceship. I really want the answers to some of these questions before I risk sending anyone there. It's not like there is a big rush, your parents will still be there whether it takes us six months or five years to get ready."  
  
Clark nodded and in his head he could accept Chloe's logic to be careful and not make any stupid mistakes. But in his heart he was just remembering how happy Lex and Lana were upon being reunited with their parents.  
  
During their conversation they had been walking at a steady pace and now found themselves off-campus, but in an area filled with apartment buildings for students. As they walked, they met another couple heading in the opposite direction.  
  
As they got closer and all came under the same streetlight, the other girl called out, "Hey, Lois."  
  
Chloe responded, "Hi, Liz. Hi, Matt. I would like you to meet Clark. Clark, Liz is my roommate."  
  
As Chloe was talking, Liz was checking Clark out. Tall, cute, dressed nice like they had just come from the theater. In the two years they had been roommates, Lois never seemed to do anything but work at the University paper and work on her doctoral thesis in some obscure branch of physics Liz never really understood. Oh, and then there were the frequent disappearances for a few days at a time, but never any men in her life, just an occasional mention of a 'Clark'.  
  
"So, this is the mysterious Clark I have heard so much about. We heard the explosion and heard about the Physics Building on the radio. We are going to check it out; do you want to join us so we can chat?"  
  
Chloe shook her head, but couldn't keep the big smile off her face. "It feels like it has been two thousand years since I have seen Clark and we want to be alone for awhile."  
  
Liz got the unspoken message and grinned back. "Okay, I think I will be spending the night at Matt's. I'll see you tomorrow." Then she grabbed Matt's arm and quickly dragged him on their way.  
  
Clark looked at the departing couple for a moment before turning back to Chloe. With a questioning tone he asked, "Lois?"  
  
"The name I am using here, just like Coelia back in Rome. At the moment, it is unimportant."  
  
Chloe pulled his head down for a quick kiss.  
  
"Clark, I have been waiting for this moment for two thousand years. Please, my apartment is just up ahead."  
  
Clark swept her up into his arms and then blurred into super speed.  
  
The End.  
  
---------------------------  
  
Author's Note  
  
Wow, did that ending rock or did that ending ROCK! A lot of reviewers said they liked happy endings and hey, me too. This was the most spectacular happy ending I could come up with and I hope you enjoyed it.  
  
I have avoided the whole begging, pleading for reviews thing. If you felt like commenting, that was great and I tried to incorporate your requests/suggests when they didn't interfere with where I wanted the story to go. But now I have a request: Do you want a sequel? Yes, no, maybe? Or should I move on to writing something else?  
  
Personally, I can see a lot of interesting things to do with these characters:  
  
1. Explore how Lana learns about and deals with her 'bots. I thought this might be more interesting to develop back in Smallville which is why I threw in the whole 'Laura' subplot to get Lana out of the story for awhile. Actually, so much of the interesting things I see happening in the next few months center around Lana, I am thinking if I do a sequel I may switch from a third person narrative style to a first person style and tell the story from Lana's perspective.  
  
2. How exactly do Lana and Whitney breakup? Does Whitney find out it is Lex and not Clark that Lana is in love with?  
  
3. Do Lex and Lana go public with their relationship or try to keep it a secret until she reaches 18?  
  
4. Lillian surprises Lionel and kicks his butt. Personally, I hated what they did with the episode involving Lex's Mom during the third season making her into some wacko. I mean Lionel is so focused on turning his son into the next 'aLEXander the great', no way would he have picked a wife with those mental problems. If I do a sequel, my Lillian is going to be strong, tough and able to go toe-to-toe with Lionel.  
  
5. Time Travel. I have no intention to do another long story where the whole story takes place in some other time period. But I could see doing a couple shorter adventures in time as part of a longer story. Any particular suggestions of time periods you would like to see? I think it was RebelGodess who one time suggested something during Shakespeare's time. Of course, if I did that we would have to see Chloe in a mustache - a la Gwyneth Paltrow in 'Shakespeare in Love'! Any other interesting suggestions for time periods? [P.S. for mdknisley - I hope you can see from this final chapter why I needed to have Chloe go the 'long' way back rather than use some 'effect preceding cause' method. If I do include time travel in a follow-on story, I think we will see some of what you are talking about - although hopefully I won't confuse all of the readers.]  
  
6. New powers for Clark? Several people have suggested giving Clark more of the superman powers since I have already significantly diverged from Smallville canon. What new powers would people like to see? I will admit I have never read any of the comics, so I only know about what I have seen from the various TV series and movies. But if someone made an interesting suggestion, I will consider it.  
  
7. Chloe as Lois. Somewhere on some Smallville internet site I came across someone's advice to writers of fan fiction of standard clichés to avoid, if you wanted to write a good story. Of course, being totally full of myself, I took it as a challenge to see how many of the clichés on the list I could work in and still have a fun, captivating read. So if you ever come across that list, you may want to go back and see how many you can find. I know there are at least four or five :)  
  
8. What comes next? I haven't really sat down and thought about what the overall story line of a sequel would be yet. Regardless of what it ends up being, I think the story will start immediately after this one and incorporate some of the events from the season 1 finale, i.e. the dance, the tornado, and Lionel closing the plant. However I find stories that just regurgitate episodes with a small twist extremely BORING. So if I include these events they will certainly end differently (Hmmm, as a final good-bye Lana drives Whitney to the bus station, but the tornado hits on the way to the station and they are both sucked up into the funnel. When they crash back to the ground, Whitney is badly hurt, maybe dying. Does Lana share her secret and save him? Of course, that would be too simple for me, so Lex would be in danger at the same time and she will have to choose between certain death for Whitney or probably death for Lex. Oh no, I have already done a cliffhanger and I haven't even started the story LOL.)  
  
Anyway, back to my original point, DO THE READERS WANT A SEQUEL?  
  
Please give me your thoughts on any of this in a review or send me an e- mail and we can discuss it.  
  
I hope you enjoyed this story,  
  
Duane  
  
duane at duaneaakre.com 


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